The Scars That Run Deepest
by Caribbean1989
Summary: Thorin survives the Battle of the Five Armies, but finds some of his Company gravely injured. While everyone has given up hope, Thorin makes one final attempt to save his comrades... Sequel to one of my earlier fics, called Battle Scars. I highly recommend you to read that one first. Larger summary inside!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This fic is a sequel to an earlier Hobbit-fic I wrote, called Battle Scars. I highly you to read that one first, you can find it here: s/8992286/1/Battle-Scars**

**So what can you expect from this story?  
****It shows the aftermath of the Battle of the Five Armies. Thorin has survived the battle and finds some of his Company gravely wounded. As nearly everyone has given up hope, he makes one final attempt to save his injured comrades…**

**The story is mainly based around Thorin, Bilbo, Rhavaniel, Legolas, Fili and Kili. But, appearances will also be made by Bard, Thranduil and off course the other members of Thorin's Company and Gandalf.**

**I am still working on some of the latest chapters of the story, so there is still room for adjustments in the story. If you have any suggestions, please send me a message, I will see if I like them and can include them.**

**I have decided to update the story every Monday and Friday. So, you can look out to new chapters on those days!  
****Thanks in advance for reading and all reviews are highly appreciated! :-)**

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His hearing was the first thing that returned to him when he gradually returned to consciousness.  
The last thing he remembered had been the sounds of a raging battle, but now there was near silence. The only sounds came from the wind rushing past him. In the distance he could hear someone yell a name over and over again, though he could not hear to whom the person was calling out, nor who's voice it was.  
His sense of smell was the next thing to return to him. The foul, coppery smell of blood, lots of blood, entered his nose, mixed with the even fouler stench of Orcs.

Slowly, Thorin half-opened his eyes, his consciousness returning to him little by little. He was lying on his side and could look over the plains that were at the foot of the mountain. Bodies of Orcs and Wargs were lying dead on the ground as far as his eyes could see. To his horror, there too were bodies of Dwarves, Men and Elves, the ones who had been fighting on his own side. His thoughts wandered off to the members of his Company, what would have become of them? And what about Fili and Kili? Those thoughts frightened him, for he realized it was very plausible that they were injured, or even worse…

Thorin tried to sit up. As he moved, a blinding pain shot through his back and left shoulder, cutting off all his breath for a moment and he let himself fall back to the ground with a grunt. Breathing hard, he carefully reached for his back with his hand. His fingertips touched two wooden arrows, which seemed to be sticking out of him. Realizing he was injured, he finally began to feel the pain coming from those injuries. Moving any muscle in his back or shoulder, sent a fresh wave of blinding pain through him. His mind wanted to avoid the pain, but at the same time he wanted to be with his comrades and be sure they were alive and well.

With a giant effort, Thorin managed to sit up, heavily leaning on his arms to prevent himself from collapsing onto the ground again. He had a better look at the scene around him: dead bodies, blood, discarded weapons, even more blood… What once was a beautiful peace of nature, now was a graveyard.

Close to him he could not see the bodies of anyone familiar to him, but that did not put his mind at ease.  
"Hello?" He tried to yell the word, but it came out croaky and not very loud. The efforts of sitting up and trying to speak were great and left him panting, the excruciating pain in his back and shoulder even intensifying. No one seemed to have heard his call, for everything stayed exactly as it was and no answer came.

His sword, Orcrist, lay beside him, like it had fallen to the ground with him. Thorin's fingers reached out to its hilt, groping around until they had a firm grip on it.  
With a groan in pain, he stabbed the point of the blade into the sandy ground and managed to pull himself onto his knees, using his sword for support.

Having this new point of view, he could finally see the complete extent of the battlefield. It was enormous, so many had fallen… both good and evil.  
He tried to push the thought away that his friends or kin would be among the dead, lying somewhere on the ground.

With a couple of yelps in pain he managed to stand up, leaning heavily on his sword. He needed to find the rest of his Company, he needed to be there for them. He needed to find Fili and Kili, make sure they were alright. He too wanted to find Bilbo, into what hell he had lead the poor Hobbit. But where to start? The battlefield was enormous, where would they all be?

Slowly he started walking in a random direction, hoping it would take him somewhere he could get help. He used his sword as a walking stick, for moving took a lot of his strength. His wounds hurt even more and he could feel fresh blood soaking his clothes and running down his back.  
His progress was very slow. He could move no faster than a slow shuffle, or his wounds would protest to the unbearable. All the way he was on the verge of screaming out from pain, gritting his teeth together was the only thing that prevented him from actually doing so.

Thorin did not know how long it cost him to cross only a couple hundred of yards. Finally he saw someone that was familiar to him and gave a sign of life. Sitting on a rock, a small distance away, was a Dwarf, whom Thorin immediately recognized by his unique hat. "Bofur…" he managed to croak out with some volume.

Bofur spun round to the direction of the sound. "Oh, thank Durin!" he said, quickly crossing the distance between himself and Thorin.  
Bofur had scratches and small cuts all over his arms and face and his clothes were torn in some places and his hat was a little lopsided on his head, but he did not seem to have any major injuries. It did not take him long, though, to see the injuries on his now king.  
"You're injured" Bofur said to Thorin, stating the obvious. "It's nothing, I'll be fine" Thorin said not being entirely truthful and looking up into Bofur's face. For the first time he noticed the tears that ran down Bofur's cheeks and the sad on his face. "Who is it?" Thorin asked, immediately understanding.

Bofur did not answer right away, instead he swallowed hard a couple of times and fresh tears ran down his face. "My brother…" he finally answered, "Bombur… is dead…".

Thorin felt like he had received a kick in the stomach. His fear had come true, one of his Company, one of his loyal comrades, had perished. He placed his free hand on Bofur's shoulder, but could not think of anything comforting to say.  
"How?" was all Thorin managed to get out. "An Orc's spear" Bofur simply answered, avoiding to look Thorin in the eye, "Balin says it probably killed him instantly. Well, at least I know he did not suffer".

Together they silently grieved for their fallen brother and comrade. Bofur's tears ran freely, but soundlessly, down his face now. Thorin just stood with a look of utter horror and shock on his face.

"And the others?" Thorin asked carefully after a while of silence. Bofur nodded slowly, "some minor injuries, and a couple grave ones". Thorin's face fell at his last notion. "Tell me" he demanded.  
Bofur gave his king a look that showed he was afraid to tell him. Seeing this, Thorin already suspected what he was going to be told.

"It's…" Bofur's voice caught in his throat, and Thorin knew that he would not like what he was going to hear. "It's Fili and Kili" Bofur finished in a thick voice, "they are wounded… badly… Gandalf believes they are beyond saving…"

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**Thanks for reading, all reviews are appreciated!  
Next update for this story is Monday 22 April. **


	2. Chapter 2

Thorin felt like he had fallen into an icy lake. All his senses were numbed. He was not able to breath, feel or speak. He just stood still like a statue, a look of utter terror etched on his face.  
"Take me to them, I need to see them, now" his voice was thick with emotion. He could only imagine what Bofur's words exactly entailed and wanted to be with his nephews as soon as possible.  
Bofur immediately sprang to life and offered Thorin his shoulder in support, which Thorin accepted and leaned heavily on as they started walking again.  
Bofur guided them in a certain direction, he seemed to know exactly where they needed to be.

For a while it looked like Bofur was leading them straight into one of the high and steep mountain walls. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Thorin asked Bofur, panting a little from the effort of walking. "Yes" Bofur answered, "it is right by that mountainside. There is a small sort of gorge there, there is our encampment and that is where they have built the tents for the wounded… and the dead…" Thorin noticed Bofur's voice broke a little on his last remark, undoubtedly because Bombur's body was there as well.

* * *

When they finally reached the encampment, Thorin suddenly stopped. All around him Men, Elves and Dwarves were taking care of their wounded. Each kin was helping each other, forgetting rivalries for the moment. Everywhere people were expressing their grief in different ways: some sat on the ground looking lost, others cried freely and some worked their grief away by aiding the injured or clearing the battlefield of dead bodies.

"They are over here, come along" Bofur said softly to Thorin, giving him a slight push in the shoulder to get him moving again. Thorin tore his eyes away from Bard, who was a few yard away from him, kneeling next to one of his men who looked utterly stricken with grief, speaking with him softly. Bard himself had a large gash across his shoulder blades and had a cloth wrapped around one of his hands, which appeared to be quite badly injured.  
Thorin allowed himself to be guided away by Bofur. He would speak to Bard later, now he needed to be with Fili and Kili.

Bofur brought him to a tent on the outlines of the encampment. Just outside the entrance to the tent, Gandalf was sitting on a large log, his arm freshly bandaged.  
Upon seeing Thorin the old wizard rose to his feet and greeted the Dwarf King, relieved to see him return from the battlefield alive, but his face stayed grave. Together with Gandalf, Thorin silently walked into the tent, dreading it more and more with every step he took.

Inside all the members of his Company had gathered. He found every single one of them staring at him as he entered. There were no welcome greetings, they too were glad to see their king return alive, but mostly it was just sadness all around.  
Most of the Company members had only minor injuries like cuts and bruises, but Dwalin sat supporting a large and deep leg wound, which came from the bite of a Warg. Balin's white hair was stained red from a wound right on top of his head, and Ori had his arm in a sling, just like Gandalf.

Thorin looked around at his comrades in silence. Some sat crying silently, while others were nearly catatonic with shock. The only one who appeared to be somewhat functional was Balin, who was taking care of the wounds of his comrades.

Suddenly Thorin realised they were one Dwarf short. "Where is Bifur?" he asked. It was Bilbo who stepped forward from the shadows he had sat in and spoke. Even Bilbo showed signs of the battle. He had several cuts on his face and blood was covering his clothes, although most of it was not his own. "We do not know… he has not yet returned nor has his body been found" the Hobbit said sadly.

Thorin shook his head slightly, knowing this probably meant the worst. "Fili, Kili?" he asked Bilbo quietly. "Over here" Bilbo said, leading Thorin to another part of the tent, which was separated from the first part by a canvas wall. He heard Balin make comments on the arrows still sticking out of his back and shoulder, but paid no attention to it, he would worry about that later.

As soon as Thorin and Bilbo rounded the corner and Fili and Kili came into view, Thorin stopped dead in his tracks. His sword fell from his hands and landed on the ground with a dull thud.  
Fili and Kili lay next to each other, both on their sides, backs turned to each other. Even though their wounds were already treated and bandaged, Thorin could still see the extent of it.

Fili's usual golden blonde hair, was stained with black Orc blood and most of his braids had become undone. He had three arrow wounds: two to his chest and one to his lower back. His hands and arms had cuts all over them, some shallow and some deep. His breathing was pained and he was trembling all over.  
Kili had been hit by an Orc blade. It had entered his body between the ribs on his front, just below his chest and had gone all the way through him, exiting again out of his back. Unlike his brother, Kili's breathing was slow, too slow. Neither of the brothers was conscious.

Thorin felt as though all the life had left him. Seeing his nephews like this, hurt him more than all the arrow wounds in the world. They were his heirs, his kin, his family and he had failed to protect them. He had failed to keep his last promise to his sister: that he would never let anyone harm her sons.

Gandalf appeared by Thorin's side. "I have done everything in my power for them, but I fear it is not enough". Thorin looked at the wizard incredulously. "There must be something you can do?!" He said to the wizard, panic sounding clearly in his voice. Gandalf simply looked at the floor and shook his head sadly, "I fear not".  
Thorin could not believe it. He just stood looking at his nephews, breathing heavily as fear and shock rapidly spread more heavily through him. He was going to lose them, this could not be happening.

He felt something warm on his forearm. Looking down at it, he found Bilbo's hand resting there, clearly trying to comfort him. The Hobbit's face was covered in tears. Thorin knew that Bilbo was very fond of his nephews, and actually felt glad that the Hobbit was here with him at this moment.  
"And they so wanted to return to the Hidden Village one day" Bilbo suddenly said softly, "to see the Elves there again. They really liked them".

"Elves?" Thorin suddenly said, as if an idea had popped into his mind. "Elves?!" he repeated, turning to Gandalf. "The Elves have stronger medicine and healing abilities than anyone in this world, they would be able to help them" Thorin said.  
"No one has seen Thranduil since the battle and also I doubt he would have helped you" Gandalf answered. "Thranduil is missing?" Thorin asked. Gandalf nodded his head gravely. Thorin felt a strange feeling upon hearing this news. He did not care much for the Elven King, but Thranduil was a king, just like him, and him being missing was not a good sign.

"What about the other Elves? There must be someone here who can help us" Thorin asked.  
"The only Elves here are injured and frankly not the best of healers. Rivendell, and Lord Elrond's care is fifteen days travel from here, at least. It is pointless, Fili and Kili will not survive a journey that long" Gandalf answered him.  
"The Hidden Village!" Bilbo suddenly exclaimed, understanding in which direction Thorin was thinking, "Rhavaniel and Legolas are good healers". "That is two and a half days away" Gandalf said. "Two" Thorin objected, "if we ride swiftly". Gandalf sighed, sounding a little irritated. "Still" he began, "Fili and Kili will not survive a journey on horseback, it will kill them". "Then I will bring the Elves here" Thorin threw in, raising his voice a little, already sounding determined.

The old wizard advanced on Thorin and stood quite close to him. "Thorin…" he spoke softly, irritation already gone, "some Elfish medicine are secret recipes and unknown to me, yes, but even the Elves cannot cure all wounds. Some people are just beyond saving…"  
Thorin looked from Fili and Kili to the old wizard. "I know" he answered, "but I owe it to them to at least try. I will not allow them to die, without knowing that I have tried everything in my power to save them". His voice broke on his last words.  
Gandalf and Bilbo both stared wordlessly at Thorin. They could not nearly begin to understand how he felt at this moment.  
"Have your wounds treated" Gandalf said after couple minutes silence, "you cannot set off on a journey with arrows sticking out of your back". Thorin gave the wizard a very weak smile, seeing that he had his approval.  
"I will take care of it" came a new voice from behind them. Balin, who's head was now bandaged, had appeared as well and was waiting with water and bandages.

* * *

Thorin seated himself on the ground at Fili and Kili's feet, so he could keep a watchful eye over his nephews for as long as he was still here. Gandalf and Bilbo had retreated to the first part of the tent again, so he was now alone with Balin.

All the while Balin worked on his wounds, Thorin did not make a sound nor did he move. Not even when Balin had to remove the arrows quite roughly from his body, for they were buried deep in his flesh. He felt numb, all he could do was sit there and stare at his nephews, taking in everything about their unconscious forms. He did not even notice it when Balin finished bandaging his wounds and sat back a little.

"I am sorry" the old Dwarf whispered. Thorin slowly turned round, so he was facing him. He had known Balin nearly his whole life, but for the first time he could remember the old Dwarf looked tired and lost. "It should not have ended like this" Balin said, tears visible in his eyes and his hair messed up by the blood and the bandage around his head.  
Thorin was lost for words. Balin had always been a great support to him and seeing him like this was painful. "Do what you have to do for them" Balin said finally, nodding to Fili and Kili, and with these last words he stood up and left his king alone.

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**Thanks for reading again! All reviews are appreciated :-)  
****Next update will be on Friday 26 April.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Thorin stayed seated on the ground for a long time. The others respected his privacy and left him alone. He sat gathering up the strength and the courage to stand up and start his journey to the Hidden Village. He dreaded leaving his nephews behind, but also understood there was no other choice. If he did not go they would certainly die.

After a long while, he finally stood up, rearranged his nephew's blankets so they were warmly covered and walked back to the first part of the tent. The entire Company seemed to be asleep, except for Gandalf. The old wizard sat smoking his pipe. A crease in his brow showed he was thinking hard. He looked up when he noticed Thorin approaching.  
"Will you take care of Fili and Kili while I am away?" Thorin asked Gandalf. "Off course" the wizard answered, "I will do everything in my power to help them survive until you return".  
Thorin nodded slowly. He took one last look around the tent to the other members of his Company and walked away. Stepping outside, he realised evening had fallen, the cool air washing over him. He stood still just outside the tent for a moment, eyes closed, feeling the soft wind on his face. He took a deep breath as he opened his eyes again. "Alright…" he mumbled softly to himself.

As he made his way over to the clearing where they kept the ponies and horses, he picked up the necessary supplies like food and water. He took only the minimum amount necessary, as he wanted to travel light and swift.  
Walking still made his wounds ache. Even though they hurt less now that the arrows were out, it still bothered him a lot. He was not looking forward to his journey on horseback, his wounds would certainly not like that.

When he reached his pony, he found that she, to his astonishment, had already been saddled and was all ready to go.  
Thorin halted, surprise showing on his face. The reins of his pony were held by a figure on another pony, who was also ready for departure.  
"Bilbo?!" Thorin said in amazement, seeing the Hobbit on his pony Myrtle. "You did not actually think I would let you go on this journey alone, now did you?" Bilbo said, a small smile playing across his face, "what if anything happened to you on the road?".  
Thorin did not react at once, but suddenly a sigh of relief seemed to pass through him. "Thank you for going along" he said to Bilbo, and he actually meant every word of it.

* * *

Silently, Thorin and Bilbo rode through the encampment to the path they would have to take. Everywhere people were still taking care of their injured. The clean-up of the battlefield had begun. Bodies of injured and dead Dwarves, Elves and Men were carried back to the encampment. Bodies of dead Wargs and Orcs were unceremoniously dumped and burned some distance away.

Without speaking to anyone, they left the encampment behind them and rode into the nature.  
"What way do we go?" Bilbo asked suddenly, realising that he had no clue as to how they were supposed to get to the Hidden Village. On the journey to Erebor they had unwontedly taken quite a detour through Mirkwood and Dale, but Bilbo was sure there must be a much faster route.  
"We take the mountain pass, that road should be safe now, all the Orcs that lived there will probably have gone" Thorin answered, "then we will keep riding west for a day. We should then reach their forest. The journey will take two days".

* * *

They rode on swiftly under the clear night-sky, the light of the moon and stars shining lightly on them. All their surroundings were peaceful and quiet, there was no sign at all of any disturbance, which made their journey go very well so far. Thorin had been right about the Orcs in the mountains, for they encountered none.

Both Thorin and Bilbo were silent, thinking their own thoughts. Ever since their departure Bilbo had been thinking about the Hidden Village and its inhabitants and their stories, a feeling of unease rising in his chest.  
"Have you ever considered" Bilbo said to Thorin, finally voicing his worries, "that by bringing Rhavaniel here, might lead to the possibility that she will come across Thranduil?". Bilbo was the only one with whom Thorin had ever shared Rhavaniel's story. No one else in his Company knew of her history with the Elven King, probably except for Gandalf.

Thorin sighed, thinking Bilbo's words over. "Yes, I have" he said, "and I will warn her for it before we set out on our journey back to Erebor, but for now he is still missing. Maybe she will never have to confront him…".  
"Do you think she will still come along when she knows it?" Bilbo asked. "It would be cruel to let her be surprised by it" Thorin answered, "and I cannot be cruel to her. Then again, she is a strong woman, she will come…". Bilbo noticed that Thorin's voice did not sound as certain as his words made believe he was.

* * *

Like Thorin had predicted, it took them one whole day to cross the mountain ridge that lay between the Lonely Mountain and the Hidden Village. They took only the minimum amount of rest, wanting to reach their destination as soon as possible. Their moods were grim and they spoke little, even their ponies trudged on with their heads carried low and their ears hanging sideways.

On the other side of the mountains an extensive piece of forest began.  
"Another day and then we should be getting close" Thorin murmured, just loud enough for Bilbo to hear him. Bilbo simply nodded, the journey had already taken most of his energy and he wouldn't mind for it to be over.  
"We shall rest here for a few hours" Thorin said once they had left the mountain and ridden into the forest. They settled themselves on the ground, after they had taken the tack of their ponies. Even though they were exhausted, neither of them felt like sleeping. They made a small fire and had something to eat.

"Do you think they will survive? Fili and Kili, I mean" Bilbo asked Thorin as they had eaten and sat around the fire. "I know it looks grim" Thorin answered, "but I keep telling myself that they will be, I cannot give up hope, not now".  
Bilbo had never seen the Dwarf king as vulnerable as now. He sat with his shoulders hanging down and head bowed. Bilbo could see the pain written on his face, from both his physical and mental wounds. They had all taken some serious blows in the past days, but everything was hardest on Thorin. It were his nephews, his comrades, his kin, his folk. He was their king now, and naturally he felt responsible for them.

"Why did you fight this battle with us?" Thorin asked Bilbo after a long silence. The Hobbit was surprised by the question. "I told you before" Bilbo answered, "you were robbed of your home and I wanted to help you take it back". "Indeed" Thorin answered, "but you could have journeyed back to The Shire as soon as we did so. Why did you stay? Why fight in a war?" Bilbo did not answer immediately, but seemed to think long on his reply. "I just felt like it was not the end of my adventure" he finally answered, "this battle was to be part of it". Thorin chuckled a little at this answer. "You actually wanted to stay for a battle? I guess that is a first". Bilbo laughed, realising what his words had sounded like. Thorin joined in the laughter, and for the first time since the battle the sad looks on their faces had temporarily vanished as they laughed together.

* * *

After another day of seemingly endless travel through the forest, with endless trees and bushes surrounding them in every direction, they finally reached a large sort of clearing. To their left were the plains over which they had travelled when first coming to the Hidden Village. That day now felt like ages ago.

"The Orc-hill is a day's journey in that direction" Thorin stated, pointing to his left.  
"That means we should be going in that direction" Bilbo said, motioning to his right. Thorin nodded, his memory of the route they had taken the first time was still quite clear. "We are getting very close now" Thorin said.

They turned to their right, crossing the clearing and rode into the next forest, that started on the other side of it. In the distance, in front of them, they could already see the steep mountain wall rising up. The mountain wall that formed the back of the Hidden Village.

"Keep a sharp eye for the road" Thorin said, looking around, "we should be nearing it now".  
Bilbo nodded, he was actually waiting for the sensation of riding through a waterfall, indicating the border of the Elves' land. He was sure last time he had felt that before they had spotted the road, but now nothing had happened yet.  
Thorin too was getting doubtful and a little worried by the fact that the road had not yet come into view. He thought back, had they missed a turn somewhere?  
Ahead, he saw a very large, broad-trunked tree with huge branches hanging over their path. He was certain they did not come across this tree the first time they travelled here. He would have definitely remembered such a distinct piece of nature. Nevertheless, Bilbo and he rode on, hoping they would find the road further down this path.

As soon as they had passed under large branches of the tree, the unmistakable sound of a bowstring being tensed could be heard behind them….

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**Thanks again for reading. As always: all reviews are appreciated :-)  
Next update for the story: Monday 29 April.**


	4. Chapter 4

Both Thorin and Bilbo tensed up at the sound. Thorin half-expected to feel the renewed pain of an Orc-arrow hitting him in the back, but nothing happened. Instead a voice spoke from behind them. A woman's voice, which they were only too glad to hear.  
"I believe I told you once, master Oakenshield, that what is quiet to a Dwarf, is a racket to the ears of an Elf. So, trying to pass through our forest unnoticed is pointless".

Slowly, Thorin turned his pony to look at the person who had spoken. On one of the large branches overhanging the path, sat Rhavaniel, bow in her hands, but no arrows could be seen. Her black hair was shining in the fading sunlight, her hazel eyes staring intently at Bilbo and Thorin, a smile on her face.  
Thorin dismounted his pony and stood looking up at her in the tree, not saying anything.  
"We were not trying to pass unnoticed, not at all actually, but how did you know it was us?" Bilbo asked surprised, still on his pony.  
"I first heard you approaching about two hours ago" Rhavaniel said, before letting herself slip off the branch. Even though it was a considerable height, she landed lightly on the forest floor, a few feet in front of Thorin. "I heard voices and recognized yours in it" she continued.

Thorin had not heard a word she had said. Finally being close and face-to-face with her, he suddenly felt very weak. The days without much sleep, the pain of his emotional and physical wounds and the efforts of the war he had fought, were finally taking their toll. He felt his knees give out on him and sank to the mossy ground, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

With three large steps, Rhavaniel was in front of him, dropping to her knees as well and placing her hands on either side of his face. "Word has reached us about the war at the foot of the Lonely Mountain" she said to him softly, "I can only imagine what things you have seen and been through these last days". Very slowly, Thorin raised his head and, opening his eyes, looked into the Elf's beautiful face. "We need help…" he choked out, all kinds of pain visible in his eyes. "Hush" Rhavaniel whispered to him, placing a finger on his lips to stop him from speaking any further, seeing how painful it was to him. She just looked into the Dwarf King's eyes, reading his pain and exhaustion from it.

"Come on, we'll ride back to the village" she said standing up, and offering a hand to Thorin to help him get up as well. Forgetting his usual pride, Thorin took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. All this while Bilbo had sat on his pony in silence and unmoving, watching the Dwarf and the Elf.

* * *

Thorin remounted his pony with a little difficulty due to the pain of his arrow-wounds, but was careful not to show it to the others.  
Rhavaniel whistled loudly, the sound reverberating through the forest. "What are you doing?" Bilbo asked her, but before Rhavaniel could answer, Bilbo's question was answered by the sounds of some twigs snapping in the distance, followed by the sound of galloping hooves. Rhavaniel's horse Sacrifice came running down the path, skidding to a halt in front of her. Thorin smiled a little to himself at seeing the beautiful black horse, thinking about the last time he had been up close to the animal.

"Why were you out in the woods?" Bilbo asked Rhavaniel, as she had mounted her horse and they had set off in the direction of the Hidden Village. "I like the woods" Rhavaniel answered, "well, I am still a Wood-Elf after all. But today, mostly hunting". For the first time Bilbo noticed her saddle bags were fully packed, with what looked like dead birds and rabbits.

* * *

It was not long before they reached the road and followed it in the direction of the village. They rode in silence, Rhavaniel in front since her horse was quite larger than the two ponies, walking faster.

Soon, they rounded the last corner of the road, and rode out onto the sandy pathway with green meadows on both sides. At the end of the path was a small square and the already familiar-feeling wooden pavilion and the houses of the village.  
It was exactly like Thorin had remembered, just as beautiful and peaceful. The end of the day was nearing, the sun setting, almost disappearing behind the high mountain wall at the back of the village. The meadows were empty, all the horses probably already stabled for the nearing night.

Crossing the small square, they made their way to the stables.  
"Go on to the pavilion" Rhavaniel said when they had all dismounted their steeds, "I will take care of your ponies, you two must be tired". Thorin would not have it, he was not just going to drop his work onto someone else, just because he was tired. He shook his head at Rhavaniel.  
"Okay" Rhavaniel said, giving him a stubborn look, "than at least sit down over there and let me take care of your pony. You're wounded, you need to be careful with yourself". Thorin looked at her in surprise. He had tried to hide the fact from her that he was wounded, but had clearly failed miserably at it. He sighed deeply, but sat down on the bale of hay she had pointed to anyway.

Bilbo had already started to unsaddle his pony Myrtle, when he was suddenly interrupted. "Same goes for you" another familiar voice spoke to him. He looked up into Legolas' face. The Elf had joined them without anyone even noticing. Bilbo seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally retreated to the bale of hay as well, feeling exhausted.

Both Thorin and Bilbo watched the two Elfs work in silence. They worked swiftly and in no time the horse and the two ponies were taken care of and warmly in their stables.

Once finished, Rhavaniel and Legolas walked back over to Bilbo and Thorin. Rhavaniel sat down on the ground in front of them, while Legolas leaned his back against one of the stable doors opposite them. Bilbo stared into nothingness, looking lost, while Thorin sat with his face buried in his hands, elbows resting on his knees.

"Tell me what happened" Rhavaniel said softly to Thorin after all of them had been silent for a few minutes. Thorin raised his head slowly, his blue eyes boring into Rhavaniel's hazel ones.  
"It is nearly dinnertime" she said, understanding him, "everyone will be in the pavilion, this is the most privacy I can give you for now". She still saw the reluctance in Thorin's eyes to tell her about the battle.  
"You came to us…" she said with a small smile, "We want to help you, you know that, but we cannot do that without knowing what it is we are supposed to do". Her tone was friendly as always, but Thorin did catch the tiniest bit of reproach in her words.

Thorin sighed deeply, mustering up the courage to start telling about the battle, the death of his comrades, the grave injuries of Fili and Kili.  
Once he started, he found the words spilling from him like a waterfall, like he had been holding them back all day. Next to him, Bilbo sat with his shoulders hanging down, tears running down his face. Everyone listened to the Dwarf King's story in complete silence…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far and if you have any tips or ideas, let me know as well! :-)  
Next update: Friday 3 May.**


	5. Chapter 5

All the while Thorin spoke, Rhavaniel and Legolas listened to him without uttering one word, grave looks on their faces.  
"Gandalf says he did everything in his power to try and save Fili and Kili… but that it might not be enough… Elfish medicine would be their last hope" Thorin finished.  
"You know that some wounds are even beyond the cure of Elves, right?" Rhavaniel spoke softly, sadness sounding clearly in her voice. She was clearly shaken up by Thorin's story.  
Thorin merely nodded in reply. There was a long silence, the only sounds coming from the horses in their stables eating their hay softly or the occasional breeze or swish of a tail.

"What about Thranduil and the Mirkwood Elves?" Legolas asked, "word has reached us that they fought in the war, on your side". An unreadable expression appeared on Thorin's face. He knew this was the moment he would have to tell them.  
"Thranduil indeed fought the war with us, as did his army. But… when we set out on our journey two days ago… he had not yet returned from the battlefield, he was missing. No one knows whether he is dead or alive" Thorin said, looking at the ground, avoiding the looks of the two Elves.

Upon hearing those words, Legolas moved so fast it nearly was a blur. He pushed himself off the wall and walked out onto the cobblestone street, halting just outside the stable building, staring out over the meadows in the rapidly fading daylight.

Thorin and Bilbo stared at him in surprise and non-understanding. Rhavaniel, however, sat motionless, staring at the ground in front of her. "This is hard on him" she said, before either Bilbo or Thorin could ask any questions. "We both left Mirkwood because of its King" she continued, "but Thranduil is still Legolas' father, and if ever his is to die or distances himself from the throne, Legolas is next in line to succeed him".  
"He would then have to make a choice" Bilbo said softly, suddenly understanding. Rhavaniel nodded, "he would have to decide whether to stay in exile or return to his homeland and claim the throne".

"Excuse me" Rhavaniel said as she stood up and walked over to Legolas. They spoke softly to each other out on the little street, Thorin and Bilbo being unable to hear what they were saying.  
Finally, Legolas walked away in the direction of the pavilion, while Rhavaniel moved back over to Thorin and Bilbo. She took up Legolas' old spot, leaning against the stable door opposite the Dwarf and the Hobbit.

"Will you help us?" Thorin asked with a hint of fear in his voice. "Off course" Rhavaniel answered, "there never was a doubt in my mind about that. Legolas wants to join as well. He is a good healer, he can be of help. We will ride out at first light".  
"But… Thranduil?" Thorin asked carefully, "there is a chance he still is alive and that he will be there…" A stern look appeared on Rhavaniel's face, something Thorin had never seen there before. He had always seen her as the gentle woman she was, but suddenly he realized that she would probably be quite fierce when angered. "Oh, I will have a thing or two to say to him, don't worry about that" she said, giving Thorin a slight smile.

* * *

The four of them had dinner away from the other Elves, to provide Thorin and Bilbo with some rest and quiet. They ate and stayed in the room Bilbo had slept in the previous time the Company had visited the Hidden Village.  
It was a large room with several comfortable couches and armchairs. On the walls were a number of beautiful, large paintings of nature scenes and horses.

They were mostly silent. Rhavaniel and Bilbo sat reading, while Legolas was cleaning his bow and knives. Thorin was restless, shifting in his armchair, doing nothing in particular.  
"Why wait till morning to ride out?" he asked suddenly. "Because Orcs are swarming our borders at night, ever since the battle at Erebor" Rhavaniel answered, not even looking up from her book, "they fled the mountains, now they roam this area, showing themselves mostly at night. They cannot cross our borders, those are well-protected, we made sure of that. Still, if I can avoid to run into an Orc-pack in the darkness, I will".  
Thorin sighed deeply. He had already asked that question four times and gotten the same answer every time. He could not stand the fact that he did not know whether Fili and Kili were still alive, whether this journey still made sense.

"I am sorry" Thorin said, after a little while. At this Rhavaniel did look up from her book, and looked him right in the eye. "What are you sorry for?" she asked. "If the Battle at Erebor never happened, the Orcs would not be bothering you now. Kind of makes it my fault, does it not?" Thorin answered.  
To his surprise, Rhavaniel gave him a wide, bit of mischievous smile. "We came across three packs so far, and believe me, none of them are walking this earth anymore" she answered, "so it is an overstatement that the Orcs are bothering us". Thorin looked stunned, "you personally fought the Orcs as well?" "Off course" Rhavaniel answered like it was the most common thing in the world, before reading on in her book.  
The rest of the evening, Thorin sat quietly in his armchair, trying to picture Rhavaniel fighting off Orcs.

* * *

Thorin did not really remember at what point he had fallen asleep. He just knew that when he woke up again and opened his eyes, the room was as quiet as it had ever been.  
Slowly he sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Outside the sky was still pitch-black, it appeared they were still several hours away from riding out.

Looking around the room, he found Bilbo and Rhavaniel still asleep. Legolas was nowhere to be seen, he probably left to sleep in his own bed.  
Silently Thorin stood up and walked over to the only window in the room. It was a large window, facing the small square of the village. He could not see far out of it, but stared into the darkness anyway, not sure what else to do.

* * *

Thorin stood by the window until the sky became a little lighter, predicting morning was nearing.  
It was Rhavaniel who woke first and found Thorin standing still like a statue, apparently lost in thought. "You okay?" she whispered, not wanting to wake up Bilbo just yet. Thorin slowly nodded his head in reply. Rhavaniel's keen eyes were able to catch this reaction even in the dark. "You even slept at all?" she asked. Thorin nodded his head again, "not that long, but it will do".  
"I will start getting the horses ready" Rhavaniel said. She stretched, her shoulder-joints and spine cracking audibly. "Legolas will be out on the porch, have some breakfast" she said softly. Thorin did not answer or move this time.

He heard the sound of the door closing behind him, indicating that Rhavaniel had left the room.  
More than ever Thorin began to realise that the moment of truth was getting nearer. Would they return to Erebor in time? Would Rhavaniel and Legolas be able to help Fili and Kili? He pushed those horrible thoughts out of his mind. He could not allow himself to think like that, there was still hope left...

* * *

**Thanks again for reading. I love to hear you thoughts on the story so far, any suggestions/ideas are also always welcome! :-)  
****Next update: Monday 6 May**


	6. Chapter 6

**This update is a little earlier then announced, but I have very little time tomorrow , making it impossible for me to post the next chapter then.  
So, enjoy with this chapter!  
If you have any questions or ideas, just send me a message. I still love to hear your opinions on this story so far! :-)**

* * *

Thorin had a quick breakfast out on the porch with Bilbo and Legolas. From where he was sitting, he could just see Rhavaniel leading two large Elven horses onto the square. He sighed crossly, his anger rising a little. What was she doing?! Where were the ponies?!

"What are you doing?" he asked in a loud voice, walking onto the square as well.  
Rhavaniel did not even turn round to look at him, she just continued strapping the last of the supplies they would be taking onto one of the horses. "Where are our ponies?" Thorin asked madly as he was nearing her. "You won't be riding those" Rhavaniel answered patiently, "your ponies are still tired from your journey over here. You will be riding our horses. See it as an advantage: Elven horses are the swiftest there are, these will be able to get you back to the Mountain within a day". Thorin looked at here flabbergasted. "Ride your horses?" he said, "but… they are quite a bit too large for me and Bilbo". Rhavaniel gave him a mischievous smile, "I did not say you would get your own horse, you will be riding with me and Legolas".

Thorin stared at her open-mouthed. "Alright" he finally said after a while.  
Rhavaniel placed a hand lightly on his shoulder, "these are the swiftest horses we have, we will be there in less then a day". She walked away into the pavilion, leaving Thorin alone with the horses. He looked up at the big black horse that was Rhavaniel's, realizing how bug this horse actually was. "Alright…" Thorin whispered to himself, "we can do this".

* * *

It was not long before they were on their way. Thorin rode with Legolas on a large chestnut horse named Naur, while Bilbo rode with Rhavaniel on Sacrifice.  
Rhavaniel had been right about the Elven horses. They had already covered quite some distance, while they had only been riding for a short period of time, bringing them closer to their destination with every large stride of the horses. If Thorin and Bilbo had ridden their ponies, they would have gone much slower. Thorin made a mental note to himself to apologize to Rhavaniel later for his behaviour earlier that morning. He realized he had been quite rude, while she only did her best for them.

They were travelling in a strong gallop. Bilbo clung onto Rhavaniel for dear life. He had never liked horses or ponies, but riding one so much larger than he was used to scared the living daylights out of him. Luckily the horses were a comfortable ride, which made Bilbo at least feel a little more certain about staying on the horse, instead of falling off somewhere along the way.

* * *

Evening was nearing when they reached the foot of the mountain ridge, separating the forests from the plains in front of Erebor.  
They eased down to a walk. The mountain pass was winding and narrow, making it impossible to go any faster without risking an accident. The stamina of the horses was incredible, for they did not appear tired at all, still walking on at a high pace.

"You alright?" Rhavaniel asked Bilbo, looking over her shoulder at him with a smile. "Sure" Bilbo answered, his voice shaking a little. When they had slowed down, Bilbo had finally dared to release the iron grip a little he had had on Rhavaniel's waist all the way.  
"Don't worry, me and Sac would never allow you to fall off" she said, still smiling. "Still, I'll be happy if this journey is finished" Bilbo said. In front of them they could hear Legolas give a chuckle, his keen ears had apparently picked up their conversation.

The sky was getting darker as they rode on in silence, the moon and stars gradually beginning to show themselves.  
"Are you not afraid of facing him? The Elven King, I mean" Bilbo asked suddenly in a quiet voice. When Rhavaniel did not immediately answer, Bilbo knew she was deciding whether or not to tell him the truth, even though he could not see her face. "Yes" she finally answered in a barely audible voice, "it scares me like you cannot imagine, but I also know that sooner or later it will have to be done. And I think… I am ready for it. At least, I hope that I am..".

As they rode over the highest point of the mountain ridge, they could already see the lights of the fires of the encampment in the distance.  
Legolas halted his horse. Even though the stars and the moon only gave a dim light, they could still see the vastness of the battlefield. Every inch of nature between the mountain ridge they were on and Erebor, was in some way affected by the battle that had been fought there. In some places it was only the grass being crushed from many feet, in other places there was blood on the ground or dead bodies. Even after nearly four days the battlefield had still not been cleared of all the dead bodies, although it seemed only the corpses of Orcs and Wargs were still left.

"I never dared imagine it was this vast" Legolas said. "Unfortunately it is" Thorin said softly, it was the first time he spoke since they had departed from the Hidden Village. They could all hear the sadness in his voice, upon seeing again what had happened in his kingdom.  
"Let's move on" Rhavaniel said softly, steering her horse past Legolas and riding further along the path.

* * *

As they rode off the mountain and onto the plains, Legolas and Rhavaniel urged their horses to go at a full speed gallop, to complete their journey as soon as possible.  
Thorin was getting more anxious the closer they got to the encampment. Would it still make sense? Would Fili and Kili still be alive? Had Bifur been found by now and would he still be alive?

They rode over the remains of the battlefield at breakneck speed, the horses expertly avoiding or jumping over the corpses and discarded weapons still on the ground.  
Thorin kept his eyes fixed on the encampment, which was now rapidly coming closer. It looked like the camp had expanded since they had left it some days ago. It seemed more tents had been erected and more campfires had been started.

To Thorin, that last gallop over the plains seemed to take forever. He could see the camp, he could smell the campfires. All he needed now was to be with his Company and family. So when the horses finally slowed down to a walk, signalling they had reached the edge of the camp, a sigh of relief went through him. It would not be long now.

It was already in the night when they set foot into the camp. The tent where the Company stayed was at the far end of it.  
As they crossed the camp, Thorin noticed not much had changed since they left. Everywhere the wounded ones were still being taken care of, both inside and outside of the tents. The dead were respectfully laid aside and covered with blankets, while the bodies of Orcs and Wargs were still being burned somewhere in the distance. They did not encounter anyone familiar to them: Bard was nowhere to be seen, nothing clarified whether Thranduil had returned or not and no member of the Company was seen walking about the camp.  
Both Rhavaniel and Legolas were speechless seeing the extent of the battle up close, looking around with sadness and shock.

As they reached the clearing which was used to keep the horses and ponies, they found all the Company's ponies huddled together around a large tree.  
Hastily, Legolas and Rhavaniel unsaddled Sacrifice and Naur and left them standing exactly where they had jumped off their backs. "You forgot to tie them to the tree" Bilbo said. "No, not necessary, they won't walk away" Legolas answered, dropping the tack with the saddles and bridles of the Company's ponies.

Thorin led them to the Company's tent.  
As they reached it, they found Gandalf standing just outside the entrance, an extremely grave look on his face. Thorin stopped dead in his tracks, upon seeing the wizard's look. "No…" he breathed out, horror in his voice. "I am sorry, Thorin" Gandalf said softly, "but I am afraid I have some very bad news…".

* * *

**Thanks for reading! :-)  
Next update will be on Friday 10 May.**


	7. Chapter 7

For a moment all five of them were silent. Rhavaniel placed a soothing hand on Thorin's shoulder, seeing him struggle with the situation. "Tell me" Thorin finally said in a thick voice, staring at the ground. He could already sense what Gandalf was about to tell him.  
"We found Bifur yesterday" Gandalf said weakly, "he is dead. I am sorry…".

Thorin's head snapped up. This was not what he was expecting to be told, but the news still struck him hard, making it impossible for him to speak. "Fili and Kili?" Bilbo asked carefully. "Still holding on" Gandalf answered.  
"Where are the others?" Thorin asked after a little while. "They are inside" Gandalf answered softly and walked back into the tent. Thorin, Bilbo, Rhavaniel and Legolas followed the wizard closely.

Inside the Dwarves were sitting in a large circle. No one made a sound, all had grave looks on their faces, and were simply staring into the fire in their midst. All of them looked up at their leader as Thorin walked in, but still no one spoke. Thorin was visibly torn between grieving with his Company and showing Rhavaniel and Legolas to Fili and Kili.  
"It's alright" Rhavaniel said softly, seeing Thorin's struggle, "be with them, Legolas and I will find our way". Thorin nodded slowly and lowered himself to the ground, sitting down between Bofur and Ori. Bilbo joined the Company as well.

Gandalf showed Legolas and Rhavaniel to the second part of the tent, where Fili and Kili lay.  
"I did everything in my power for them, but it was of little help" the wizard spoke. "Do you think they can still survive?" Rhavaniel asked him. "I do not know" Gandalf answered honestly, "their wounds are severe. Only time will tell if they have the strength to survive".  
"I told Thorin I was not sure whether we can help them" Rhavaniel said softly. "It is a good thing you did" Gandalf answered, "personally, I believe they are beyond helping".

Rhavaniel and Legolas knelt down as they reached the two brothers. Fili was trembling nearly uncontrollably, while Kili lay completely still, even his breathing barely visible.  
Gandalf had not walked away yet, "luckily their wounds have not become infected, but they lost a lot of blood and their strength seems spent". Neither Rhavaniel nor Legolas answered, a simple nod of the head was their only recognition that they hard heard the wizard. They both inspected the wounds on the young Dwarves and the condition they were in.  
Without another word, Gandalf turned around and walked away, leaving Legolas and Rhavaniel alone with the two brothers.

Rhavaniel sighed deeply, looking down at Fili and Kili. "Alright" she finally said to Legolas, "let's do this". She repositioned herself, so she sat between the two brothers, placing a hand on the side of Fili's head. Legolas sat down next to Kili and too placed a hand on the young Dwarf's head. Their free hands entwined and together they softly spoke healing words in Elfish, which nearly sounded like some sort of chant.

As Rhavaniel and Legolas worked, Thorin appeared in the second part of the tent and quietly walked up to them. Watching the two Elves and his nephews, he suddenly felt silent tears run down his cheeks. All this time he had managed to keep his composure, but now his world came crashing down on him. What had he done? Fili and Kili did not deserve this. He had been reduced to seeking help with Elves. He considered them his friends, but still they were Elves.  
He allowed himself to sink to the floor, burying his face in his hands, just listening to the soft words spoken by Rhavaniel and Legolas.

* * *

Thorin did not know for how long he just sat there. He could not remember whether he had fallen asleep or whether he was just so lost in thought that he lost sense of everything around him. All he knew was that he was suddenly startled by Rhavaniel, who had knelt down in front of him, placing a soft hand on his arm. He quickly looked around: Legolas was nowhere to be seen and Fili and Kili were warmly covered under a load of blankets. "What…?" was all he managed to bring out.  
Rhavaniel smiled at that, "I believe you were not with us for some time". Thorin's only answer was a grunt as he passed a hand over his face.

Rhavaniel shifted to a sitting position and folded her legs in front of her.  
"Can you help them?" Thorin asked quietly. Rhavaniel sighed deeply, a grave look on her face. Thorin had never seen this look there before and it scared him a little. "I think we can" she finally answered, "but a lot will still depend on Fili and Kili themselves. Their injuries are severe and I do not want you to get your hopes up just yet. A lot can still happen". Thorin nodded, "thank you for helping us".  
"No worries" Rhavaniel answered, "Legolas and I will repeat the treatment several times a day. The wounds look quite good actually, they are not infected, but we will keep cleaning them every day and refresh the bandages. For now, that is everything we can do, let us hope and pray it is enough". Thorin looked up into her beautiful face and felt so extremely thankful that he could not even translate it into words. Apparently, Rhavaniel needed no words to see his gratefulness. "Don't worry about it" she said softly, "I know what your nephews mean to you and we care about Fili and Kili quite as much as you do, that is why we came with you".

Rhavaniel rose to her feet gracefully, while Thorin stayed seated on the ground. "Get some rest, Thorin, you need it".  
As she walked away from him, a small smile suddenly appeared on Thorin's face. He had just realised that that had been the first time she had actually called him by his name, apart from the first time they met, and somehow it was like the last of the barriers between them had been broken down. He no longer looked at her as an Elf, but as his true friend.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I still like to hear your thoughts on the story.  
****I know this chapter was a little shorter than usual, my apologies...  
****Next update will be Monday 13 May.**


	8. Chapter 8

Rhavaniel left Thorin alone with his nephews, knowing that, once he was on his own, he would at some point fall asleep. He was exhausted, but just would not admit it.  
Once Rhavaniel had gotten up, Thorin moved so he sat closer to Fili and Kili, watching them closely.

Back in the first part of the tent it was dark, for the fire had nearly died out. Everyone appeared to be asleep, even Gandalf finally took some rest. Rhavaniel herself was wide awake and felt not at all like sleeping and decided to go looking for Legolas, who was clearly not inside anymore.

Once outside, it turned out the night was actually quite nice. The full moon and stars were shining bright, no clouds in the sky. There was a soft wind and the temperature was comfortable.  
For a moment, Rhavaniel looked around, taking in her surroundings. To her left, she could see the horses and ponies. Some were dozing, while others were grazing. More horses had appeared on the clearing, but it was unclear to whom they belonged.  
To her right was the rest of the camp. Everywhere were tents, discarded weapons and other items on the ground and here and there a covered up corpse.

Walking among the tents, Rhavaniel noticed that is was still busy, even as it was night. People were walking around, still attending to some wounded. Others were sitting around fires outside their tents. Nevertheless, there was mostly silence in the encampment, only a few people were speaking in hushed voices, but most did their things without a word or sound.

Rhavaniel's eye was caught by a man, sitting on the ground, away from the tents and other people. It looked like he had deliberately chosen this quiet spot. A small fire was alight close to him, as he sat with his back against the rocky wall of the mountain side, his hands fumbling with something which did not appear to go at all well.

As she got closer to him, Rhavaniel could see he was of the race of Men. His hair was dark-brown, half-long and came in slight curls. A short moustache on his upper lip. He looked exhausted from the probably many trials he had had to endure in the past days, if not weeks. His brown eyes looked up at her as she stopped walking near him.  
It appeared he had been trying to fix his broken bowstring, but with one hand heavily bandaged it had become impossible for him to do so.

"Need any help with that?" Rhavaniel asked him kindly. He kept looking at her and at first did not say anything. "You an archer?" he finally replied. Rhavaniel nodded, "all my life". Again, he did not reply immediately and seemed to consider her answer for a moment. Then, slowly, he held out his bow to her, which she carefully took from him.

Rhavaniel sat down on the ground opposite him and gently began replacing the broken bowstring. She could feel him watching her every move. "What's your name?" he finally asked in a soft voice. "Rhavaniel" she answered. He nodded, "I'm Bard".

Rhavaniel's head snapped up from her work, for a moment stopping completely. "You're one of the Men of Dale" she said, "you are the one that killed Smaug, is it not?" Bard gave a nervous chuckle, like he was nearly embarrassed to admit it. "Yes" he finally said. Rhavaniel gave him a small smile, seeing his reluctance to admit his deeds. "You should be more proud of that achievement. From what I heard of it, it was a great shot". "I guess so, but… it caused for Dale to be destroyed by the dragon's body" Bard sadly added, "I am responsible for the death of some of my villagers".  
Rhavaniel looked at him and could see it was genuinely bothering him. "Think of it like this" she said, "if you had not taken the shot, Dale would probably have been destroyed by Smaug as well, but then all its inhabitants would have been dead. You saved many lives".

They both went silent again for a moment. Bard watched as Rhavaniel worked on reattaching the bowstring to his bow and threw another log on the small fire to keep it going.  
"What did you do to your hand?" Rhavaniel asked, looking to Bard's bandaged hand from the corner of her eyes. "It got stamped on during the battle. I… think one of my fingers is broken, but I'll live" Bard answered. He tried to move his fingers a little under the bandage, but his face quickly screwed up in pain and he stopped his attempts.

"You came here after the battle, right? I saw you arriving with Thorin and Bilbo" Bard suddenly asked her. Rhavaniel merely nodded, "Thorin has some severely injured among his men. He asked us to come over here to try and help them". "And can you?" Bard asked, "they came to us in Dale, so I know his Company". Rhavaniel sighed and looked Bard in the eye, "I do not know. His nephews, Fili and Kili, have grave injuries which might even be beyond the healing abilities of the Elves".  
"Too bad" Bard answered sadly, "they are brave Dwarves and you could have some fun with them". Rhavaniel did not actually say anything, but nodded her head slowly. She fully agreed with Bard, and sincerely hoped she was wrong about possibly not being able to save them.

"They found the Elven King of Mirkwood, two days ago" Bard suddenly said, "he only has minor injuries, nothing serious. He had everyone worried for some time that he had perished, you know".  
Rhavaniel gave Bard a stern look, "why do you think I care?" It came out way harsher than she had meant. "I am so sorry" she immediately continued, seeing Bard's surprised and somewhat hurt look at her unfriendly reply. "It is alright" he said, "I just assumed you were from Mirkwood, with you getting here so fast. Rivendell is too far away to reach this place within only a couple of days".  
Rhavaniel hesitated for a moment, before replying to Bard. "Originally I am from Mirkwood" she said, "but I left it long ago. I now live in a small village about two days ride, with Thorin's ponies that is, to the northwest of here".

Rhavaniel was glad Bard let the matter be and did not ask any further questions about her origins or why she left Mirkwood. She assumed he had correctly sensed it to be a sensitive topic.  
"Right, I think that is it" Rhavaniel said after a while, finishing attaching the new bowstring. She reached for one of the arrows lying beside Bard and gave the bow a test-shot. The arrow flew away with a whooshing sound and landed in the trunk of a tree a few hundred yards away.  
"Yep, works fine. Nice bow, by the way" Rhavaniel said as she handed it back to Bard. "Thank you for the help and good shot" Bard said looking from Rhavaniel to the place where the arrow had bored itself into the tree-trunk.

"Do you know that lad by the way?" Bard asked as he took his bow back from Rhavaniel. He was looking at a spot somewhere behind her. "He has been standing there, staring at the ground, for I do not know how long now".  
Rhavaniel looked over her shoulder to see what Bard meant. "Legolas…" she whispered, as she realised it was him. Indeed he stood about a hundred yards away from them, unmoving and staring at the ground. "Excuse me" Rhavaniel said to Bard, stood up and walked over to Legolas.

Rhavaniel knew Legolas very well, so she was immediately aware something was wrong with him. As she came closer, it turned out he was not staring at the ground, but at three bodies lying there, half covered by blankets.

"Are you alright?" Rhavaniel asked Legolas softly, standing next to him and looking at him with a worried expression. "Do you remember them?" his voice was barely a whisper.  
For the first time Rhavaniel looked at the bodies more closely. It were the bodies of three hazel-haired Elves, all three looking very alike each other. Rhavaniel felt unable to breath for a moment.  
"Candor, Daerdor and Gelluidor" Legolas said sadly, "they were with us that day you saved my life. They are our friends".

"How could I ever forget them?" Rhavaniel said, shock and grief in her voice. She felt tears sting in her eyes. These three Elves were brothers and had been friends with her and Legolas when they were still living in Mirkwood. They had even supported her and helped her in leaving after Thranduil had done his punishment on her.

Both Rhavaniel and Legolas stood shoulder to shoulder, softly saying an Elvish prayer in farewell to their friends. When they finished Legolas bent down and pulled the blankets up higher, so the bodies were covered entirely. "_Namárië"_ they both whispered as Legolas stood back up again.  
"It should not have ended like this for them" he said softly. Rhavaniel shook her head, tears running down her cheeks now. "No, it should not have" she answered weakly, "at least all three of them will be together on the other side".

Legolas gave Rhavaniel one last sad look and started walking back to the tent of the Dwarves, leaving her alone. She looked at him as he walked away from her. His shoulders hung down and his head was bowed, the loss of their friends weighing down hard on him. She knew he wanted to be alone right now, so she did not follow him.

Suddenly a voice behind her spoke. "Rhavaniel?"  
Rhavaniel froze up immediately. She recognized that voice, for it had often spoken to her before, but she had not heard it in a very long time and frankly feared hearing it now…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading, reviews are always appreciated! :-)  
Next update will be Friday 17 May.**


	9. Chapter 9

Slowly Rhavaniel turned around, but even before she was facing the person whom had spoken, she already knew who it was.  
"My Lord" she said by way of greeting, a hard expression appearing on her face. Opposite her stood a tall Elf, with long, white-blonde hair and light eyes: Thranduil. He was clad in his silvery tunic, not wearing his crown, looking quite serene and in control like he usually did. Even so, he could not hide the fact that he bore the marks of the battle fought. His hands showed several cuts and bruises, his arms undoubtedly showed them as well, but were covered up by the sleeves of his tunic. He walked with a slight limp.

"What do you want?" Rhavaniel said curtly to Thranduil. "To talk" he answered as controlled as always, he appeared not to be affected by Rhavaniel's tone. "Well, I have nothing to say to you" she said and made to walk away.  
As Rhavaniel turned around, she suddenly felt a hand close around her wrist, preventing her from walking away. She jerked her arm free of Thranduil's grip, which was only gentle, and advanced on him, coming to a halt inches in front of him. "Don't ever touch me again" she growled angrily. Unexpectedly, Thranduil took one large step back and raised his hands in apology, before regaining his composure.

Behind Rhavaniel, Bard had slowly risen to his feet, one hand had a tight grip on his bow. It was not hard for him to spot the tension between the two Elves. He knew of Thranduil's grim reputation and was ready to intervene if things got out of hand. Even with one hand badly injured, he was quite sure that from this close, he was still able to fire quite a lethal shot, but for now he kept his distance.

"I… I just… need to get a few things off my chest" Thranduil started again, stammering slightly. Rhavaniel's look softened a little, Thranduil never faltered or stammered when he spoke, so whatever it was, must be really bothering him. She nodded curtly in approval and stepped back a little, out of the Elven King's personal space.

Thranduil was silent for a moment and cast a quick look at Bard, who was still watching the two Elves apprehensively, bow in his hands, ready to shoot if necessary.  
"We need to talk about what happened" Thranduil began, "about what….I put you through".  
For a moment Rhavaniel just stared at the Elven King. "Alright" she finally sighed, "you want to know why I left Mirkwood?" To her surprise, Thranduil shook his head. "I know you left because of me" he said, "and I owe you an explanation".

"Explanation?!" Rhavaniel exclaimed in a angry voice, "you all but tortured me, there are no explanations for that!" Suddenly, all anger she had cropped up in all those years, spilled out of her.  
"I never did anything to you!" she now yelled at him, "all I did was make sure Legolas was not killed by the Orcs that attacked us that day, and you decide that is a good reason to cut me open!"  
Rhavaniel pulled up the left sleeve of her dress, revealing the scars that were on her forearm. Upon seeing the scars, Thranduil closed his eyes for a moment and averted his gaze.  
"I am faced every day with the reminders of what you did" Rhavaniel continued, "and you must have a damn good explanation to make it right".

Rhavaniel stood breathing hard, trying to control her anger. Thranduil just stood absolutely still and silent, avoiding to look at her.  
"I should have thanked you on my bare knees" he suddenly said quietly, "for you saved my son's life. Instead, I made a terrible mistake". Rhavaniel looked at Thranduil in disbelief. Never before had she seen him act so vulnerable. "When Legolas came to me and told me what happened, I lost control" Thranduil said, looking at Rhavaniel again.

For a moment there was silence between the two of them, in which Rhavaniel glared angrily at Thranduil.  
The Elven King was the first to speak again. "A long time ago, someone once saved my life" he said.  
"I hope you did not thank him in the same way" Rhavaniel said acidly.  
Thranduil ignored her remark and continued undisturbed. "This person, and no I will not speak his name, believed that he had power over me after he saved me" Thranduil said, "he started to ask favours of me, which he believed I owed him. At first I complied, believing that I indeed owed him some. But in time, he started to ask more and more of me".  
"Why are you telling me this?" Rhavaniel asked. "Because it contributes to what happened between us" Thranduil answered patiently. Rhavaniel simply nodded for Thranduil to continue.

"One day" he spoke again, "this persons asks me something outrageous: he wants me to kill Gandalf. When I tell him I won't do it, that I have had enough of it, things go wrong. He says I will always be in debt with him because he saved my life, and he threatens to harm my family and my people, if I do not do as he says". Thranduil went silent, looking to something on his right. "I believed he was bluffing, but he was not" he nearly whispered, voice unusually unsteady.

"The Queen?" Rhavaniel said shocked, for she realised what Thranduil was telling her, "but she died of illness, Legolas told me himself".  
"Because that is what I told him. He was too young to understand the truth. No… she was murdered, by a person who was basically blackmailing me". Thranduil went silent after this, staring at his feet.

Rhavaniel was speechless. Never before had she heard of this and never before had the Elven King shared something so personal with her.  
"I'm sorry" Rhavaniel said softly. Thranduil looked up at her, his bright eyes full of pain. "It does not justify what I did to you, nothing ever will. But I was reminded so strongly of my wife's death and the circumstances surrounding it, and, well… something just snapped inside my head, I was not thinking rationally anymore. She was the love of my life…".  
"Who is this person and what happened to him?" Rhavaniel asked. "Like I said, I will not speak his name, but let's just say that not all Elves are fair beings. And after… you know… Gandalf and I took care of him".

Suddenly Rhavaniel felt compassion for Thranduil, her anger towards him draining from her slowly.  
"It does not justify your actions" she spoke softly, "but it makes me understand a little". Thranduil gave her a weak smile, "if I could rid you of those scars, I would. If I could take it all back, I would too".

There was silence between the two of them again, longer then ever before. Both of them realised there was nothing more to say. Thranduil's eyes found Rhavaniel's and with a small bow of his head he turned away. He said a short prayer for the three fallen brothers, for they were his folk and with one last look at Rhavaniel he walked away…

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**Thanks again for reading!  
Personally I found this chapter quite difficult to write, I took a long time before I was satisfied with it. So, hopefully you liked it. Still, all reviews are appreciated :-)  
****Next update will be Monday 20 May.**


	10. Chapter 10

Rhavaniel stood silent, watching the Elven King walk away from her. Slowly he disappeared out of her view.  
Without her wanting to she felt her breathing become faster and tears burning in her eyes. That had been it, the moment she had feared all those years! And she had done it, she had confronted Thranduil and he had actually listened to her. The outcome was very different from what she had been expecting, but still, it was done.

Suddenly, Rhavaniel felt a warm, gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned around and found it belonged to Bard. He was standing behind her, looking at her with worry written all over his face. He had followed the whole scene from a distance, but had still clearly caught the tension between the two Elves.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Rhavaniel sighed deeply. "Believe it or not" she said softly, a few silent tears spilling from her eyes, "I have never been better". From the look he gave her, it was evident that Bard indeed did not believe a word she said.  
He looked down at her arm that bore the scars, her sleeve still rolled up. "Thranduil did that to you?" he asked, apparently dying to know what the altercation between the two Elves had been precisely about. Rhavaniel merely nodded her head, but did not actually say anything. Bard understood the signs and did not ask any further questions, seeing she did not want to talk about it.

"Get some rest" Rhavaniel finally said to Bard, "you look tired". She gave a small smile in goodbye and decided it was time to go back to the tent. Bard kept watching her for several seconds as she walked away from him, still not certain she was going to be alright. He then turned around and left for his own tent. Rhavaniel was right, he thought, he needed to take some good rest. Until now the battle and its aftermath had kept him going, but he was now starting to feel the utter exhaustion that plagued him.

* * *

As Rhavaniel went back into the Dwarves' tent, she was careful not to wake any of them. Everyone was still sleeping soundly. She found Legolas had laid himself down as well, sleeping quietly in one of the corners.

Rhavaniel, however, walked further to the second part of the tent, to check up on Thorin and his nephews. A small smile appeared on her face as they came into her view.  
Thorin lay on the ground, close to his nephews' feet. He had draped his coat over himself like a blanket. Even though he had told her he was not feeling like it, he was now sleeping deeply.

She carefully walked past Thorin and seated herself on the ground next to Fili. Her mind was still spinning from the confrontation with Thranduil. As she looked down at her hands, she noticed for the first time they were shaking. She felt her breathing become faster again and tears burning in her eyes as she thought back to the conversation again. There, as she was alone and everything was quiet, she allowed the tears to fall properly for the first time.

* * *

At first, Thorin did not know why he had woken up. He was still exhausted and felt like he could sleep for a whole day. For a minute or so, he just kept lying still, unsure what to do next. Only a slight glow of light came from the fire, which was nearly died out.  
Suddenly he realised there was an unfamiliar sound, which was probably the reason why his sleep had been disturbed. He could not quite distinguish what he heard, but it was clear to him someone else was there, apart from his unconscious nephews and himself. He pushed himself into a sitting position, looking around a little tensed.  
"Who's there?" he asked suspiciously into the near darkness, his hand closing around the hilt of his sword in a reflex.

"It's only me" a familiar voice answered him. "Rhavaniel?" Thorin said, sighing in relief. Even though she had only spoken three words, Thorin still caught something was very wrong. Her voice was not as clear and steady as it usually was, but thick and a little shaky.  
Slowly, his sleepy eyes adjusted well enough so he could make out the figures of Fili and Kili and Rhavaniel sitting next to one of them on the ground, back turned to him.

"Are you alright?" Thorin asked, as he moved over to Rhavaniel, sitting down in front of her. He could not see her face, she had her head was bowed and her gaze directed at the floor.  
"Sure" she answered in the same thick and shaky voice. Thorin gave a slight snort at her reply, "I do not believe a thing of that".  
She looked up at him, and Thorin immediately saw that he had been right. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes red, like she had sat there, crying silently, for hours.

Thorin's expression changed to one of extreme concern. "W… What happened?" he blurted out, quickly checking up on Fili and Kili. To his relief, Fili was still trembling visibly and he could see Kili's slow breathing under his blankets as well. His nephews were still alive, so that could not be the reason she was so distraught.  
Suddenly Thorin understood. "Thranduil?" he asked a little suspiciously, "what did he do to you?" Rhavaniel nodded her head to indicate Thorin was right. "But he did not do anything to me" she answered, "it's just…" Her voice broke and trailed off. "It was just being face to face with him" Thorin finished the sentence for her. She nodded, but she looked at the floor again, deliberately avoiding to meet Thorin's eyes. "It is just all those memories coming back…" Rhavaniel said softly.

Thorin was silent for a couple of seconds, looking at the ground as well. "Oh, look at you, you are shaking" he suddenly said, seeing Rhavaniel's hands were still trembling in her lap.  
Rhavaniel looked up at him, and he could see fresh tears in her eyes. Without consciously realising it, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight bear-hug. "You did it" Thorin whispered to her, "you faced him, it is over". Rhavaniel did not answer, but merely buried her face in Thorin's shoulder. Thorin felt a little uneasy sitting like this, but too felt he needed to comfort her. He could not just watch her break down and do nothing.

They sat like that for a long time, saying nothing.  
"Rhavaniel?" Thorin asked quietly. She had not made a sound for a while now, and he wanted to know if she had calmed down a little. However, she did not respond or even move to indicate that she had heard him. Thorin leaned back and carefully pushed Rhavaniel off him a few inches, so he could see her face. To his astonishment, he saw she had fallen asleep, probably exhausted from the day's exertions.

Careful not to wake her, Thorin lay her down on the ground next to Fili and covered her with a blanket.  
He looked down at her for a moment, then retreated to his own sleeping place. Falling asleep again within minutes…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading! As usual, I would love to hear your thoughts on the story :-)  
****Next update will be Friday 24 May.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Rhavaniel was woken up the next morning from a soft murmuring voice. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up, looking around the tent.  
She found Legolas with one hand on the side of Kili's head, murmuring his healing words in Elvish. Balin, in the meantime, was refreshing the bandages on Fili's wounds.  
"Good morning" the old Dwarf said quite cheerily. "Good morning" Rhavaniel answered him with a smile, "how does it look?" "We cannot complain" Balin answered, "their wounds are still free of infections and are healing quite well". "And yourself?" Rhavaniel asked, casting a glance at the bandage still around the old Dwarf's head. "Oh, nothing time can't heal" he answered airily.

Rhavaniel looked down at Fili. He was still trembling occasionally, but mostly it seemed to have eased down. His hair was still covered in places with dried Orc-blood and most of his braids were still undone.  
"You finished with this?" Rhavaniel asked Balin, making up her mind and pointing to the bowl of water he had used to clean Fili's wounds. "Yes, use some if you need" Balin answered, applying a fresh bandage to the young Dwarf's wounds.

Carefully, Rhavaniel took a wet cloth and started washing away the Orc-blood and other dirt out of Fili's hair. The golden blonde colour becoming visible again as the filth disappeared.  
Legolas finished his enchantments and looked around at Rhavaniel and Balin. "It appears their conditions are improving" he said. "It seems so" Balin answered, relief sounding in his voice.  
When she was finished, Rhavaniel lay the cloth aside and started combing Fili's hair with her fingers. Balin watched in silence, while Legolas was making sure Kili was warmly covered with blankets.

After Fili's hair was untangled, Rhavaniel slowly began putting the braids back in, when all of a sudden a stir went through his body.  
Rhavaniel's hands immediately stopped their work and she looked down in doubt. Had she been mistaken? Had it just been one of the tremors that still plagued him sometimes?  
"Did he just move?" Balin quietly asked, who had apparently seen it too. Rhavaniel did not say anything, but moved her face a little closer to the young Dwarf. "Fili?" she softly whispered in his ear. A few seconds of silence were followed by a low, soft moan from Fili. Rhavaniel slowly sat upright again. "Legolas, get Thorin" she said urgently.

Legolas jumped to his feet and ran to the first part of the tent. He felt his heart sink a little, when he saw only Gandalf was there. "Have you seen Thorin? I urgently need him" Legolas asked the wizard hurriedly. "Unfortunately I do not know" Gandalf answered. Legolas did not wait for any further reply from the old wizard and ran outside

Once outside he halted and looked around, searching for any sign of the Dwarf king. In the distance he caught a glimpse of Dwalin, still limping because of his leg injury.  
"Dwalin!" Legolas yelled, making the Dwarf look around at the person calling his name. "Dwalin, have you seen Thorin?" Legolas asked as he neared. Dwalin nodded his head, "he is with Bard and Thranduil, discussing what they will do next. Third tent on the right from here". "Thanks!" was all Legolas managed to call back as he ran past him at high speed.

Legolas came to a halt in front of the tent Dwalin had indicated. It was only then that he fully registered what the Dwarf had told him. Thranduil. He would be inside that tent as well. His father, would he be ready to face him? He shook his head to shake the thoughts away. There was no time for that now. He took a deep breath, pulled the tarp aside and entered the tent.

As soon as Legolas set foot in the tent he found Bard, Thranduil and Thorin looking up at him in surprise. The look on Thranduil's face changed as soon as he realised who had just walked in. He looked at his son with sadness, but at the same time great relief to finally see him again.  
Legolas ignored his father's stare and immediately turned to Thorin. "You must come with me now" he said to the Dwarf king urgently. A look of horror appeared on Thorin's face. "What happened?" he demanded to know. "It is Fili" Legolas answered a little out of breath, "he is waking up".

As soon as Legolas uttered the words, Thorin dropped the map he had been holding and ran off.  
Legolas cast a quick glance at Thranduil who was still staring at him. He felt the Elven king was about to say something to him, but before he could speak, Legolas turned around and walked out too, leaving Thranduil and Bard behind.

Thorin ran as fast as he could. How he had been hoping to hear these words!  
Reaching their tent he ran inside, he did not even stop to see if someone was in the first part and ran straight through to the second part.  
He skidded to a halt and fell to his knees beside Fili. Rhavaniel had her face close to Fili again and was speaking softly to him. Fili was half-conscious now. His eyes were open, but seemed to register nothing of his surroundings. His breathing had become a little faster, probably from the pain his wounds still caused him.  
Thorin was speechless with relief, he simply sat there and stared down at his oldest nephew. He looked at Fili's glazed eyes, which he had never expected to see again.

"Fili?" Rhavaniel asked softly. Suddenly the young Dwarf's eyes fluttered in her direction and for the first time seemed to take something in.  
A frown appeared on his brow. "Rhavaniel?" he said in a non-understanding tone. His voice was barely audible and hoarse. "W… where… am I?" a little panic sounding in his voice now. "Sshh, it is okay, don't be afraid" Rhavaniel answered, placing a soothing hand on his upper arm. "No one can hurt you now, you are safe" she continued. Fili's gaze slowly shifted towards Thorin. "Uncle…" he breathed out. "I'm here" Thorin simply answered, not knowing what else to say.

Already these little actions seemed to take most of Fili's energy.  
"Where's Kili?" he asked with difficulty. "He is right here, behind you" Thorin answered.  
"I tried to save him" Fili suddenly whispered in a panicked voice, "but… but… the spear had gone through him… I thought he was dead…". "Relax" Rhavaniel said soothingly, "don't exert yourself". Her words, unfortunately, had little effect. The panic in FIli was evident, his breathing fast and his eyes wide.

Thorin gave Rhavaniel a look that told her he could not bear to see his nephew like this. Fili's words about Kili had clearly shaken him up. "Fili?" Rhavaniel asked quietly. Fili answered her with a soft whimper. "You need your rest, don't hurt yourself with these things now. You think you can still sleep?" Fili carefully shook his head, "it hurts too bad…"  
"Okay, don't worry, I can make you sleep, but I need you to trust me". Fili looked at Rhavaniel, his eyes the clearest they had been since he was awake. "You know I trust you…" he answered in a whisper.

Rhavaniel placed a hand on Fili's head and closed her eyes. Even though she did not actually utter any words, Thorin knew she was performing an enchantment in her mind.  
It took only seconds for Fili to become extremely drowsy. His eyes closed slowly and his breathing eased down again. The muscles in his face relaxing, the expression of pain and fear disappearing.

Thorin watched his nephew rapidly drift off to sleep. "Thank you" he whispered to Rhavaniel. "No, no" she answered, "don't thank me yet, I am still not a 100% certain on his recovery". Thorin looked her right in the eye. "I know" he answered earnestly, "I was thanking you for sending for me when Fili appeared to be waking up. Even if he does not make it after all, I can at least comfort myself with the thought that I was there when he last saw this world"…

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**Thanks again for reading! All reviews are appreciated :-)  
****Next update will be Monday 27 May  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**I apologize in advance, but this chapter is a little short. However, it felt right this way and I promise that the next chapter will be "normal" lenght again!  
****I do still hope you enjoy it! All reviews are still welcome :-)**

**Next update will be Friday 31 May**

* * *

As Legolas walked away from the tent he had found Thorin in, he suddenly heard his name being called. It did not surprise him, he had actually been expecting it.  
"Ada" he said in a very serious tone. Turning around, he found Thranduil slowly walking towards him. It looked like the Elven King was a little apprehensive, not quite sure how to act around his son. Legolas did not say anything further, but waited for Thranduil to speak first.

The Elven King halted a few feet from Legolas, looking at him from top to toe, like he was inspecting him. "My son" he said, "long has it been since I last lay my eyes upon you". Legolas sighed annoyed and for a moment contemplated on walking away, he did not need this kind of speech. But Thranduil was a exceptionally wise Elf, and even after all these years could still read his son perfectly well.  
"I only ask a moment of your time" he said. Legolas watched his father with a fierce look in his eyes, but finally agreed.

"I have some explaining to do…" Thranduil started. "You must not explain to me, I believe you owe that to Rhav" Legolas interrupted him. "She has already had the kindness to listen to me. My actions towards her can never be put right, but at least she now knows the full reasons and causes. I believe you deserve that too" Thranduil said, never losing his majestic composure.  
"Alright" Legolas said, deciding to give his father the benefit of the doubt. Thranduil's face showed relief, "I believe a place with more privacy is in order for this".

In silence, the two Elves walked to the clearing where the ponies were kept. Thranduil's elk could be seen grazing there too. The animal was the odd one out between all the horses and ponies, but appeared not to be bothered by this at all. Apart from the animals, the clearing was deserted.  
Giving the elk a better look as he walked past, Legolas noticed one of the animal's antlers was missing a part. Probably he sustained this 'injury' in the battle. He tore his gaze away from the animal and looked ahead at his father, who was walking in front of him. He walked with a slight limp, indicating he had fought in the battle. Legolas knew Thranduil was never one to easily show injury or emotion, so whatever caused him to limp must hurt quite badly.

When they had cleared away from the tents sufficiently, Legolas halted and waited for his father to speak. Thranduil kept his back turned to his son and stared at his peacefully grazing elk. "I believe it is time to tell you the truth about some things" he began. Legolas ignored this remark. "Why did you hurt Rhav?" he asked fiercely, "you know what she means to me".

Thranduil slowly turned around to face Legolas. "I do know what she means to you" he said softly, "I lost you because of your love for her". Legolas did not answer, but simply stared crossly into his father's bright eyes. "Please listen to me" Thranduil nearly pleaded, "it is not an excuse for my actions, but hopefully it will clarify some things for you, you deserve to know the truth". Legolas nodded his head curtly, a sign for Thranduil to start telling his story. He told Legolas everything he had already told Rhavaniel. About his life being saved, the true cause of his wife's sudden death and what had caused his actions towards Rhavaniel.

Legolas listened in silence, a look of shock appearing on his face.  
"Why did you tell me mother died of illness?" he asked weakly when Thranduil had finished talking. "You were too young to understand all of it" the Elven King answered, avoiding his son's eyes.  
Silence fell between the two Elves for a long moment. "Did she suffer?" Legolas asked finally.  
"I believe not, her death appeared to have been quite quick" Thranduil answered in a whisper, utter sadness and pain sounding in his voice.

"Why did you cut Rhav?" Legolas asked. This was the only thing that still bothered him and to which Thranduil had not given a satisfactory answer. "Does torture really ever have a purpose?" Thranduil answered. "And yes I realise it was torture" he added seeing Legolas' head snap up at the words.  
"You could have just banished her Mirkwood? If you so badly felt you needed to punish her" Legolas said. "I guess I wanted to maim her for life, remind her of it every day. She is a good shot with that bow of hers, perhaps I felt I needed to make sure she could not use it anymore". Legolas looked at his father in disgust. Thranduil was hurt by his son's look, but could not quite blame him for it.  
"Well, you failed" Legolas said softly but angrily, "she is a strong woman and she shoots as well as ever".

Legolas looked up at his father and saw how much the whole situation hurt him. "This all never should have happened" Legolas whispered. Thranduil shook his head slowly, staring into nothingness, "no, it should not have".  
"You were a man overcome by grief, I see that now" Legolas said slowly, "I know that I cannot hold you fully responsible for your actions, but I need you to know that you deeply hurt us both. I do not regret leaving Mirkwood, but it all should not have happened".

The Elven King looked at his son with something that resembled pride. "When you left all those years ago, I realised what I lost and how dear you are to me. Before, I always took that for granted. My family is everything to me and I have lost it all. My beloved wife I can never get back, but I do hope that one day you will return to me".  
"What did you tell Rhav?" Legolas asked a little apprehensively. "I told her everything you have just heard" Thranduil answered, "and that if I could take back my actions, I would".

Legolas sighed deep. "This cannot go away overnight, the wounds need time to heal" he said.  
"Time I hope you will give me" Thranduil said softly. Legolas looked straight into his father's eyes, making his decision. "I need to speak to Rhav about this. You have lost the love of your life, but I will not risk losing mine".  
"I understand" Thranduil said softly, a look of hurt and disappointment appeared on his face.

Legolas walked away from his father, without another word or a goodbye, leaving him alone with the horses, ponies and his elk. When he was some distance away, Legolas looked back once. Thranduil had sat himself down on the ground, face buried in his hands. Looking at his father so broken down, he realised for the first time how much the Elven King regretted his actions. And he could not help it, but Legolas felt not at all sorry for his father…


	13. Chapter 13

Thorin felt his spirits had lifted some since Fili's short period of consciousness. He knew his nephew was not entirely out of the woods yet, but it did put his mind at ease a little. He and Rhavaniel stayed seated with the two young Dwarves after Fili slept again.

His moment of wakefulness surprisingly seemed to have done Fili some good. He slept peacefully now, the tremors that had rocked his body before, had nearly disappeared. Only occasionally an involuntary shiver went through him.  
Rhavaniel had finished the braids in his hair, which looked again like it usually did. She was now checking up on Kili's condition. His breathing had become a little stronger and some colour had returned to his face, making her positive on his recovery as well.

Thorin now refused to leave his nephews' side, wanting to be there if either of them woke up. At some point Balin had left, leaving Thorin alone with Rhavaniel.  
"How long will he sleep?" Thorin asked quietly, looking down on Fili. "It depends" Rhavaniel answered, "when you are physically strong you will be able to break the enchantment within a few hours. However, he is weak, he can easily sleep through the night". Thorin nodded absentmindedly. "What are your thoughts on Kili?" he asked. Rhavaniel sighed deeply and took her time answering the question. Suddenly she looked up at him with a genuine smile. "I must say, after the last treatment, I can see some strong improvement. I believe you have some reason to be positive".

Both Thorin and Rhavaniel were startled when Legolas practically stormed in.  
"Rhav, we need to talk" an urgent tone to his voice, and he immediately turned around and walked out again. Rhavaniel gave Thorin a non-understanding look, but quickly went after him. As she too walked outside, she found Legolas waiting for her near the entrance to their tent.

"What is wrong?" Rhavaniel asked a little distressed. "Why have you not told me you have spoken to my father?" Legolas asked very seriously. Rhavaniel was speechless for a moment. "I… don't really know" she stammered, "but also, I did not know I was obliged to tell you when I did…"  
Legolas realised his tone had been too harsh. "I am sorry" he said, "I did not mean it like that". He walked up to her and gently closed his hands around her upper arms. "You spoke to him alone. You had to face it all alone and I was not even there to support you". Legolas stared into her hazel eyes. "Well, so did you, apparently" she said, understanding how Legolas knew it all.

Both of them talked lengthily about their separate conversations with the Elven king.  
"It does not put right what happened" Rhavaniel concluded, "but it does put things in perspective for me. I was the last drop that made his bucket overflow, I realise that now". Legolas stared into nothingness, deep in thought. "What do you want to do?" he finally asked.  
"That is not my decision alone" Rhavaniel answered quietly. "I know" Legolas said, "and I will not be separated from you, so it should be a decision we both agree on". Rhavaniel gave him a warm, loving smile, which Legolas returned.  
"I believe we should at least give Thranduil a chance. He genuinely regrets everything that happened. I would like to stay in the Hidden Village, I love it way too much to leave it, and Mirkwood is only a four day trip from there. We can visit and divide our time between the two places". Rhavaniel spoke the words like she had given them a lot of thought. "Then we are on the same page, for those were my thoughts exactly" Legolas answered confidently.

Deciding it was time to speak to Thranduil together, they made their way over to the clearing with the horses and ponies, where Legolas had left his father. To his surprise Thranduil was still there, still sitting on the ground with his face buried in his hands.  
"Ada?" Legolas spoke softly as he and Rhavaniel neared the Elven king. Thranduil slowly raised his head and looked up at the two young Elves. He looked tired and worn out, the signs of the battle still showing quite clearly on him. He quickly stood up, seeing that this was the moment he had been anticipating.

It was Legolas who spoke first. "Gaining trust is difficult" he said, "especially when it has been so badly betrayed as in our case". Thranduil bowed his head, expecting his son to tell him bad news. All his usual swagger and composure had disappeared. "However, we are willing to give you a chance" Legolas continued. Thranduil's head snapped up like he had been struck by lightning. "Really?" he asked, thunderstruck, "but I do not deserve that at all…"  
"Everybody deserves a second chance" Rhavaniel said softly. "We will stay in the Hidden Village, for it is our home now, but we will divide our time" Legolas said. Thranduil looked like he could hug both of them. "I am honoured you will provide me with this new chance" he said. Turning to Rhavaniel, he added "and I promise that I will not mess it up this time".

An awkward silence fell between the three of them. Neither knew what to say or do next.  
In the end it was Thranduil who again thanked the two young Elves, said a goodbye and walked away. Legolas and Rhavaniel watched him as he retreated. His pace seemed to be a little more springy again. A weight clearly lifted from his shoulders, because he had began to set things right again.

"Ada, wait!" Legolas suddenly called after his father. Thranduil stopped and looked around as his son ran towards him. "There is something else I need to discuss with you".  
Something changed in Legolas as he said it. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, almost nervously, to see if Rhavaniel had followed him. She had not, instead she had walked over to Sacrifice and was patting him absentmindedly.

"It is Rhav" Legolas said to his father softly. Thranduil sighed, a small flash of impatience crossing his face. "I apologized to her and told her the whole history too, but it will take time for her to trust me again. If she ever will trust me fully again. You must not haste these things".  
"No, no, that is not at all what I meant" Legolas interrupted. He fell silent and looked around at Rhavaniel one more time, to make sure she really had not come closer. Thranduil looked at his son expectantly and waited patiently for him to speak again.  
"I am going to ask her to be my wife" Legolas said quietly, "so, hopefully, she will be part of my family, and of your family". Thranduil was quiet, an unreadable look on his face, until a wide smile appeared. "I knew it" he said, "I have always known you were more than just good friends".

Legolas waited for his father to truly speak his mind about this, and was slightly disappointed when Thranduil turned his back on him and made to walk away. He had only taken a few steps, when he turned back to his son again. "One day you will make a fine king" he spoke, "and she will be a beautiful queen. You two deserve each other". Legolas sighed in relief at his father's approval.

"One advice: ask her when you return to your village" Thranduil said, "this battlefield, this graveyard is not the place". He then turned around and really walked away this time. Legolas stared after his father for a while. Suddenly a large smile crossed his face and for the first time in a long while he felt utter happiness spread through him.

* * *

**Thanks again for reading. All reviews are appreciated :-)  
****Next update for the story is Monday 3 June**


	14. Chapter 14

Legolas and Rhavaniel rejoined the Company after their talk with the Elven King. The rest of the day passed quite uneventful for them, which they did not mind in the slightest.

In the evening the Company had diner outside their tent together with Legolas, Rhavaniel, Bilbo and Gandalf. At some point Bard joined them as well. He had been walking by and seen the entire group sitting outside and was asked to sit with them, which he gladly accepted.  
For the first time since the battle, the smallest amount of cheer could be found among the Dwarves again. Every now and then Thorin would walk back inside to check up on Fili and Kili, to make sure that they had not woken up again. Everyone knew that when he came back after several minutes, both young Dwarves were still out.

Rhavaniel was mostly silent during the evening. She merely watched the others conversing and laughing and listened to everyone's stories, but did not quite join in. It was not that she wasn't enjoying herself. On the contrary even, she loved sitting there and just observing and listening.  
Suddenly someone sat down on the ground next to her, a spot that had been occupied by Thorin, but had been vacated when he had walked inside to check on Fili and Kili once again.  
"Are we having fun?" Bard said softly, so only she could hear him, a taunting look in his eyes. Rhavaniel did not look at him, but a smile crossed her face. "Actually, yes I am" she answered.

"What is going to happen to you and the people of Dale? And Dale itself?" Rhavaniel asked after a moment of silence. "It is all so uncertain" Bard answered grimly, "I guess we will have to rebuild our town. We will manage in the end, we always have done so far… But, let us discuss some cheerier subjects. Now, tell me of your Village, for I have never seen it nor have I heard of it"  
Rhavaniel began telling of the Hidden Village, while Bard listened to her attentively. They talked all through the evening, until darkness had long since fallen.

As the evening grew later, the members of the Company left the group one by one and went inside to go to sleep.  
When only three were left around the fire, Bard stood up. "Good night" he said to Rhavaniel and Thorin, since they were the only ones left, and retreated to his own tent for the night.

Thorin and Rhavaniel rose to their feet as one. Together they put out the fire and went inside as well.  
Fili was still sleeping peacefully under the enchantment and Kili had still not regained consciousness yet, even though he began to look better little by little after every treatment. Still, the fact that he had not woken up once did worry Rhavaniel a little, but she never spoke of those worries to Thorin. It was not yet necessary to bother him with this.

Legolas was already deep asleep, lying at Fili and Kili's feet.  
Thorin quietly lowered himself to the ground next to Fili, leaving Rhavaniel with the spot next to Kili.  
"Good night" he whispered. "Good night" Rhavaniel answered him. She lay down on the ground, back towards Kili, staring at the canvas wall of the tent. It did not take long before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Rhavaniel awoke because she felt something on her back. She slowly opened her eyes and easily let them adjust to the darkness. Whatever it was that she had felt, was gone now. It was unusual that she was woken up by something touching her skin so lightly, but she did not give another thought to it, being absolutely sure she was safe here. She closed her eyes again, ready to drift back to sleep.  
But there it was again, a feeling like something brushed against her back. Probably a mouse that had gotten into the tent. She reached with her hand for the spot on her back where she had felt it, intending to remove the mouse from her. Instead her hand bumped into someone else's.

Rhavaniel shot upright and looked down on Kili. To her great relief, she found him looking back at her.  
"Hi.." he managed to croak out. "Kili, my word, how are you feeling?!" Rhavaniel asked. "I… don't know" Kili breathed out, "everything hurts". "Well, you were hit by a spear" Rhavaniel answered. Kili looked up at her and for a moment the usual mischievous look appeared in his eyes. However, as soon as it came it also disappeared again, when his face screwed up and he let out a groan in pain.

"Thorin" Rhavaniel said urgently, trying to wake him up, "Thorin, come on, wake up!"  
Thorin let out a grunt and rolled himself onto his back. "What is it? Why are you waking me up in the middle of the night?" he said sleepily.  
"Because I feel like having some tea with you, that's why" Rhavaniel answered sarcastically, "no, you idiot, it is Kili! Get over here!". Thorin jumped to his feet and took the short cut by stepping over both Fili and Kili at once and fell to his knees beside Rhavaniel. "Thank Durin!" he exclaimed seeing Kili awake.

"I am sorry, uncle" Kili whispered upon seeing Thorin. "No, no, there is no reason to apologize" Thorin said soothingly, "you have been very brave and you fought valiantly. I can only be proud of you, and of Fili". Kili did not respond. He merely closed his eyes for a second, for a new wave of pain shot through his body. "Where is Fili?" he finally asked. "He is on your other side, he is going to be fine" Rhavaniel answered.

"Can you tell me what happened to you in the battle?" Thorin carefully asked Kili.  
Kili's eyes found Thorin's, a hesitant look in them. Apparently he wasn't too keen on reliving the battle, but he started telling anyway. He stopped talking at regular intervals to catch his breath or close his eyes for a couple of seconds when the pain became too much.

"It was Fili…" he began, "I heard him cry out when he was hit by the arrow. I… I was distracted. That is when the spear hit me… I have never felt so much pain… my whole body burned, but at the same time all my senses were numbed…" Rhavaniel noticed that Thorin looked away at Kili's last notion, the idea clearly paining him.  
"I fell to the ground and suddenly I realised Fili was there…" Kili continued, "he was fighting off the Orcs… that were coming in to finish me off. I could see the blood from his wound, soaking his clothes. I could see the arrow in his back. It must have hurt him so bad… but he fought on, for me…"

Kili fell silent and this time needed a little longer before he could continue.  
"I heard how the second arrow hit him, in the chest" Kili went on again, "Fili did not make a sound… all I could hear was the arrow hit his flesh… He was hit in the chest a second time as he fell to the ground. I was so scared… I believed both of us would die right there…" Kili did not continue after that.

Rhavaniel cast a sideways glance at Thorin. It was clear that hearing all the details of his nephews' injuries was not easy for him, but at the same time a questioning look appeared on his face.  
"What made that the Orcs did not kill you?" Thorin asked, "they must have seen you two were still alive, even with such horrible injuries. Why didn't they go for their kill-shot?". Kili seemed to think hard. "We were defended by someone" he finally said. A look of greatest surprise appeared on Thorin's face, "who was it?". Thorin already knew it was not someone from his Company, they would have most definitely told him if they had done something as heroic as this.  
"I do not know" Kili answered, "I never saw his face and… it was not long before I passed out".

"What do you remember about him?" Rhavaniel asked. Her curiousness was triggered just as much as Thorin's. Kili's eyes shifted to her. "He was dark-haired and… and tall, so probably a Men or an Elf" Kili answered slowly. "Maybe something he did?" Thorin asked carefully. "No" Kili answered, "but at some point one of the Orcs hit him and he fell to the ground, and the Orc stood on his hand… I believe I could hear his fingers break…"

Rhavaniel and Thorin looked at each other, for a moment lost for words. It immediately dawned on both of them who had prevented Fili and Kili from being killed by the Orcs in the battle.  
"Bard…" Rhavaniel whispered…

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**Thanks again for reading! Reviews are always welcome :-)  
****Next update for the story will be Friday 7 June.**


	15. Chapter 15

For a long time no one spoke. Rhavaniel and Thorin were silent, processing what they had just heard and realised.  
"I spoke to him" Rhavaniel said disbelievingly, "why didn't he say anything? We even discussed the battle, and Fili and Kili". Thorin sat quietly, slowly shaking his head. He could not yet believe what he had just heard. Bard had defended his nephews. He had been the one that had prevented them from being definitively slaughtered by the Orcs, giving them a chance to survive.

"Fili…"Kili said softly. Both Rhavaniel and Thorin looked in the direction of the blonde Dwarf and noticed he was waking up. Kili tried to look over his shoulder, as he had first realised that his brother was moving, but was unable to without paining his wounds  
"The enchantment must be wearing off" Rhavaniel said, moving over to Fili's side. She found him looking up at her as she reached him. "Kili?" Fili immediately asked. Even before Rhavaniel could answer, Kili already replied. "Good to see you are joining us as well" he said. He tried to laugh, but the movement hurt his wounds, so it sounded more like a husky cough.

A resolute look had appeared on Fili's face.  
"Oh no, that is not a good idea" Rhavaniel said to him, seeing what he was planning to ask. "I need to see him, I need to look him in the eye and see his is going to be alright" Fili said, the resolution only hardening on his face.  
Rhavaniel looked over at Thorin, who sighed deeply. "Most likely there is no arguing with him anyway, so you'd better just assist him" Thorin said, a little smile crossing his face.  
"Alright" Rhavaniel said, extending her arms to Fili, "but I am warning you: this is going to hurt".  
"I cannot care less about that" Fili answered determinedly, very carefully rolling himself onto his back.

When the wound on his back came in contact with the ground, he let out a soft groan in pain. Rhavaniel expected this was the first of many to come, but still Fili looked determined.  
All the commotion in the tent, had woken up Legolas too. He sat silently, taking in the actions of Rhavaniel and the Dwarves.  
"Legolas, give me a hand" Rhavaniel said, and he moved over to assist her in helping Fili sit up and finally stand up. Like Rhavaniel already expected, moving hurt Fili a lot and he winced and groaned in pain nearly constantly.

It seemed to take an age, before they had walked the short distance to Kili's front. Fili needed a lot of support from the two Elves, his legs not quite able to carry his weight.  
He was practically panting by the time he finally lowered himself to the ground in front of Kili. However, the look on his face when he looked his brother in the eye, proved that it had been worth the pain.  
"I thought I'd lost you" Kili spoke softly. Fili nodded his head, "same here".  
"I have never been so scared, as when I saw you get hit by those arrows" Kili said, his voice was breaking a little over the words. "Not as scared as I was" Fili answered.

Rhavaniel, Legolas and Thorin let the two brothers be as they softly spoke to each other, encaging in a conversation of their own. They were all still dumbstruck by the news that Bard had defended Fili and Kili like they were of his own folk. "I must thank him in the morning" Thorin said absentmindedly. He looked sideways to Fili and Kili and could see Fili was slumping over more and more. "Come on Fili, lie down, you need your rest" he said, making his way over to his nephews.

Fili did not resist when Thorin helped him lie down, face turned towards his brother. Both the young Dwarves looked tired again already, and it did not take long before they were peacefully asleep, comforted by the fact that they had seen and spoken to each other.  
Thorin stayed seated next to his nephews, a feeling of immense relief spreading through him.  
"It looks like they are going to be fine, doesn't it?" he asked Rhavaniel and Legolas a little hesitantly. "Yes, I believe they will be" Legolas answered. "Then, for the first time in days, I think I can sleep peacefully" Thorin said, letting out a yawn and lying down on his coat again.

* * *

It was early in the morning when Bard woke up. He always woke early, usually far before everyone else.  
He stared at the canvas ceiling for a while, then decided it was time to get up and start his day. Actually he dreaded this day and he had done already for some time. Today was the day for the farewell ceremony for the ones of his folk who had fallen in the battle.

He sat up and looked down at his bandaged hand. The bandage had gotten quite dirty over the last few days, he would have to ask one of the Healers to change it. His body still felt quite stiff and sore in some places from the battle. Apart from two of his fingers being broken, he received quite some well-placed blows, which had left him with several painful bruises.  
He stood up, while rubbing the sleep from his eyes and put on his boots and long coat.

Bard was still in the process of waking up when he walked outside. His idea was to first start a fire and have breakfast. He was busy stacking up some logs, when he was interrupted.  
"Why didn't you say anything?" a voice behind him suddenly spoke. Bard was startled by it and spun round, dropping some of the logs he had been holding.  
"Rhavaniel! You scared me" he said with a laugh, while he bent down to pick up the logs. Rhavaniel had walked up to him even closer, without Bard even noticing. She made no comment to the fact that she had startled him, but merely repeated her question.

"Why did you not say anything about you saving Fili and Kili?" she asked. Bard avoided to look at her and continued building his fire. "Why does it matter?" he answered finally.  
"Why does it matter?!" Rhavaniel exclaimed, while kneeling down next to him. She wrapped her hands around his wrists to stop him from working on his fire and making it impossible for him to ignore her.  
"It matters because you probably saved their lives. It matters because you believed they were worth defending. It matters because it was an act of pure goodness". Rhavaniel looked deep into Bard's eyes as she spoke the words. He looked back, but did not immediately answer.  
"I did not say anything because I was not sure they were going to survive" Bard said in the end, "if they had died it would not have mattered anyway. No one would care".  
"But they are going to survive and you played a very important part in that survival" Rhavaniel said to him softly. "If you had not defended them, they would have died by the hands of the Orcs. Instead you choose to fight for them, to risk your life for them. You even sustained a quite severe injury, and still you choose to fight on to save their lives. If it were my family, it would mean a lot to me. And as a matter of fact, I know Thorin thinks about it the same way".

Bard did not know what to say and simply stared at Rhavaniel. She smiled at him, "it is not a crime to claim credit for your actions". "I know" he answered, "but it is just not in my nature to claim the spotlight". Rhavaniel gave a snort. "Killing a dragon, saving the people of an entire city, saving a Dwarf king's nephews… like it or not, the spotlight is yours" she said. Bard laughed out loud, "okay, you have got a point there".

"So, Fili and Kili will survive?" Bard ask, coming back to Rhavaniel's earlier comment. "Looks like it" she answered, "both of them have been awake by now, their wounds look good and their conditions are improving. They still have a long way to go to full recovery, though".  
Bard nodded his head absentmindedly, "well, than at least saving them was not pointless".

Rhavaniel stood up, she had said everything she had wanted to say. "All the best today at the memorial" she said to him. "Thanks" Bard answered, "I think I will need it…".  
"Just to give you a head's up" Rhavaniel concluded, "Thorin will come to talk to you too, probably later today. He wants to thank you personally". "It is a good thing I know that" Bard answered with a laugh, "so I can start preparing for it".

Rhavaniel looked down at Bard for a couple of seconds, seeing the weight still on his shoulders.  
"If you need to talk or need anything else, you know where to find me" she said quietly. Bard's eyes found hers. "Thanks" he said softly, "this battle has been way harder on my than I had expected, but I will be fine…". He gave a sad smile. Rhavaniel seemingly considering what to say next. "It will take time" she finally spoke, 'and it will not be easy, but you'll get through". She placed a hand on Bard's shoulder for just a second, before turning around and walking away.

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**Thanks again for reading! All reviews are still welcome :-)  
****Next update will be Monday 10 June**


	16. Chapter 16

Over the next few days, Fili and Kili kept improving rapidly. Both of them were awake now at regular intervals and for longer times, but still they tired easily.

On the fifth day after Kili had woken for the first time, the brothers had been able to make it outside the tent. Although leaning heavily on fellow Dwarves, they had reached the fresh air without too much difficulty. Accompanied by Thorin, Balin and Legolas, they now sat with their backs against a large boulder, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Thorin had never been more relieved than over the last few days. His nephews were on the road to recovery, they were getting better and stronger with every day. Finally, things seemed to be going his way for a change.  
He had nearly broken down and cried when he had seen Bard for the first time after he knew he had defended Fili and Kili, and had thanked him endlessly. The Bowman had all accepted it quite calmly, not knowing how to act in that situation. Every grudge that Thorin had beared against Bard had disappeared in that instant.

The five of them watched as two riders on horses neared them. As they came closer Thorin could distinguish Rhavaniel on her horse Sacrifice and Thranduil on Legolas' horse Naur. They had assisted in the last bit of clean-up from the battlefield, which was now finished. Mostly weapons and broken armour had been left, which was now all taken away. The plains in front of Erebor were the peaceful nature again and looked like a battle had never taken place there.  
Legolas was glad to see Rhavaniel interact with Thranduil, and the Elven king accepting it. He knew Rhavaniel and himself were dedicated to make their reunion work, but it looked like Thranduil worked hardest of all on it.

"Hey, look at that!" Rhavaniel said cheerily, as she halted her horse next to the ones sitting outside. "Feels good to be outside, no doubt?" she asked Fili and Kili. Both the young Dwarves gave her a wide smile, telling her everything she needed to know.  
Thranduil kept his distance from the Dwarves, waiting on his horse patiently, not sure whether he was allowed to come any closer to them.

"By the way" Rhavaniel said suddenly, jumping of her horse, "Fili, I believe we found something of yours". A questioning look appeared on Fili's face, he was clearly thinking hard about what it could be. "Like what?" he finally asked, not coming up with anything he had lost.  
Rhavaniel rummaged a little in one of her saddle bags and pulled something out. As she held the items out to Fili, he immediately recognized them: his knives.

Fili accepted them from Rhavaniel without a word and looked down at them as they lay in his lap.  
"You cleaned them" Fili said gratefully, for the last time he had seen his knives they had been covered in Orc-blood. To his surprise, Rhavaniel shook her head. "No, I did not" she answered, "he did". She pointed over her shoulder and Fili looked past her at the person she had indicated. His eyes found Thranduil, who still stood a little away, looking slightly uncomfortable. "He found it was not polite to return these to you while they still showed the marks of the battle" Rhavaniel said.  
"Thank you" Fili managed to call out to Thranduil, after several moments of silence. Thranduil gave him a weak smile, then led his horse away to the clearing to unsaddle it.

"We're having lunch in a moment" Thorin said to break the silence that had fallen, "join us".  
"Sure" Rhavaniel answered, "I'll be back in a minute, I have got to take care of the horses first".  
She too walked away to the clearing where the horses were kept, Sacrifice following her on his own, needing no lead.

Thranduil and Rhavaniel worked in silence, even though they stood only several feet apart. Rhavaniel and Legolas might have decided to give the Elven King a second chance, but being around him and interacting with him still felt a little odd. Especially Rhavaniel did not know what to do or say around him.  
Suddenly, she found him standing at Sacrifice's head, placing a hand on the horse's nose. Like any other Elf, Thranduil could move nearly unheard and had done so now.

"I heard Legolas discussing with Thorin that you two will be leaving soon. That you will return to your village" Thranduil said. Rhavaniel did not look at him, and merely nodded in reply. "I guess your work here is done, now that Fili and Kili are doing so much better" Thranduil continued. Again, Rhavaniel simply nodded her head.  
"Would you mind me travelling with you to your village after our work here is done?" Thranduil asked out of the blue, "I have heard a lot of it, but I would like to see with my own eyes where my son now lives". This time, Rhavaniel did look around at him. She seemed to consider him for a moment, but finally made up her mind. "Not at all" she said, "you are always welcome with us". Thranduil could see that she actually meant it, which he was grateful for. "Let me know when you will be returning" he said.

Rhavaniel could sense the Elven King had something else to say. Something he appeared to be dreading, but knew was important. "Whatever you want to say or ask, you can" she said to him. "I promise I won't yell at you anymore" she added with a smile. Thranduil gave snort in reply, but turned serious again right after.  
"The Mirkwood Elves have been in a period of mourning over the last week" he said, "to honour the ones that have fallen".

Rhavaniel had indeed noticed the signs of the Ritual for the Fallen the Elves of Mirkwood held. For one week the Elves would keep a large fire going, which they would guard day and night. The guard changes every hour and laments are sung by the fire. After a week, the fire would be ritually put out during a memorial for the fallen, which would be attended by nearly every Elf in Mirkwood.  
Apparently tonight the ritual would come to an end and the ceremony would be held.

"I would like for Legolas and you to attend the ceremony tonight" Thranduil said, "after all, you both are still Mirkwood Elves and friends of yours have fallen too".  
Rhavaniel had finished unsaddling Sacrifice, lay the tack aside and turned around to face the Elven King. "We would be honoured to" she answered softly, "like you said, we knew some of the fallen, they were our friends as well".  
"We start at sundown" Thranduil said softly. Without another word, he walked past her, their shoulders brushing together for just a second.

Rhavaniel stood still as Thranduil walked away from her. But after a couple of seconds, she smiled to herself. Only a few days ago she would have jumped ten feet into the air if something as simple as their shoulders brushing together had happened. It seemed, finally, she was able to leave the past behind her.

* * *

Rhavaniel returned to Thorin, Legolas, Balin, Fili and Kili sitting outside their tent, and joined them for lunch.  
While passing, Thranduil himself had already asked Legolas to attend the memorial later that day. Off course, he too had immediately agreed to be there.

The six of them sat and ate together, while talking happily about lots of things.  
Legolas was the only one who did not quite join in. His thoughts were on the memorial later that day. He felt he had to pay his last respects to his friends and the other fallen Elves of Mirkwood and the ones they had left behind. Because he knew that one day, he would most likely be their king.  
He looked sideways to Rhavaniel, who sat beside him, laughing and joking with Fili and Kili. One day she would hopefully be the queen by his side, the queen of the Mirkwood Elves. Only, at this moment, she herself did not know it yet…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading! :-)  
****Next update will be Friday 14 June  
**


	17. Chapter 17

The memorial for the fallen Elves of Mirkwood took several hours. It was close to midnight when Legolas and Rhavaniel walked back to the Dwarves' tent. The night was nice and clear, the light of the moon and stars shining on them peacefully. The camp was nearly deserted, most 'inhabitants' already gone off to bed.  
To their surprise, at the end of the row of tents, a small fire still seemed to be burning. As they neared it, they found Thorin and Bilbo sitting next to it.

"What are you two still doing up?" Legolas asked, voice a little hushed to prevent making too much noise in the quiet camp. "Couldn't sleep" Thorin and Bilbo answered as one. Legolas smiled and sat down next to the fire as well. "I think I can speak for both of us and say that we will not be sleeping any time soon either" he said.

Rhavaniel's attention was caught by movement to her right. "Naur" she said surprised seeing the horse had wandered off the clearing, "what are you doing here, buddy?" She walked over to the horse and gently took the rope that was still hanging from its halter.  
"He escaped again?" Legolas asked with a laugh. "Looks like it" Rhavaniel answered. Legolas gave a snort of laughter, "that is definitely not a first". Rhavaniel shook her head, laughing as well. "I will take him back to the other horses" she said and led the chestnut horse back to the clearing.

As she tied Naur to the tree again with the other horses, Rhavaniel was suddenly startled by a sound behind her. She spun round, looking around frantically at the source of the sound.  
Her keen eyes found the silhouette of a person sitting on the other side of the clearing. "Hello?" she called out, unable to make out who was there. "Yeah, over here" a familiar voice answered, quickly followed by a hiss in pain. "Bard?!" Rhavaniel said surprised.

She quickly finished the knot in the rope that tied Naur to the tree and made her way over to the silhouette. Reaching him, she immediately noticed why he was in pain. He was attempting to change the bandage on his injured hand himself, but was failing at it miserably. Only succeeding in causing himself more pain.  
Rhavaniel watched him silently as he fumbled around with the bandage, unable to get it around his hand properly. Finally, he seemed to give it up and looked pleadingly up at Rhavaniel. She smiled at him, "I was waiting for that".

Rhavaniel knelt down in front of Bard and took a good look at his hand and fingers. "The wounds look clean" she said, "those should heal well. Can you move your fingers?" Bard moved his fingers a little, which seemed to go fairly fine, even though his face did screw up in pain a little. "I can move them better than a few days ago" Bard said confidently. "Yeah" Rhavaniel answered, while examining his broken fingers carefully, "your fingers are definitely broken, but look to be healing well. This should be fine within a few weeks".

Bard was silent as Rhavaniel gently applied the fresh bandage to his hand.  
"You will be leaving soon?" Bard asked quietly after a while. "Yes" Rhavaniel simply answered. "We will be leaving tomorrow" Bard said, "I know Thranduil and his people will too".  
"Legolas and I will journey back probably tomorrow as well" Rhavaniel said. Bard fell silent again and did not reply.

"Why were you out here by yourself?" Rhavaniel asked. "Because I know you check up on the horses one more time before you go to bed, and I wanted to say goodbye before either of us left" Bard said, avoiding to look at her. Rhavaniel finished the knot in the bandage, sat back and looked at Bard. She could feel Bard had not finished saying what he wanted to say, so she waited for him to speak again.

"Before I came to this battle I was never really fond of Elves" he started, 'but then again, my only point of reference was Thranduil". Rhavaniel made a face, not understanding what Bard was trying to say.  
"What I meant to say is that Legolas and you kind of changed my opinion on Elves" Bard continued, "you two are the kindest beings that I have ever met. And I must say, now I know Thranduil a little better, he is not as bad as his reputation makes you believe". Rhavaniel stared at him for a moment, not knowing what to say. "And you and Legolas are both exceptionally lethal with a bow, which I like too" Bard added with a laugh. "Thank you… I guess" Rhavaniel finally responded.  
"I do hope we will meet again one day" Bard said as he stood up with a grunt. "Hopefully under happier circumstances" Rhavaniel said softly. Bard sighed deep and nodded his head sadly.

For a while neither of them spoke or made a sound. "I think it is wonderful of you to come and aid Thorin, even when you have nothing to do with this battle" Bard suddenly said. From the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes, Rhavaniel knew he meant every word of it.  
"They are friends" Rhavaniel answered, "you do not just turn friends away when they come to you for help".  
"Sure" Bard said, "but you did not know me when you offered to help me, or comfort me". Rhavaniel had not seen that one coming and stammered something incoherent.  
"Don't worry, I appreciate it greatly" Bard said, "but now I must go and prepare for our departure tomorrow". He gave Rhavaniel one last smile, then left her alone with the horses.

* * *

Rhavaniel stayed right where she was for a while, making sure the horses were alright for the night, like she did every day.  
When she walked back to the fire, she found Thorin, Legolas and Bilbo still sitting around it, talking softly. She sat down on the ground next to Bilbo.

"Almost everyone is leaving tomorrow" Thorin said to no one in particular. Legolas and Rhavaniel gave each other a meaningful, yet silent look. "I think we will too" Legolas finally said. Thorin quietly nodded his head. "I have been expecting it" he said. It was Bilbo who spoke next. "I guess I will return to the Shire as well then".  
"That's a long journey to take on foot" Thorin stated bluntly. "I know" Bilbo answered, " but I will have to go back to Bag End sometime".

There was silence for a moment between the four of them. "I will take you back to your home" Rhavaniel said out of the blue. Bilbo looked at her incredulously. "You… you don't have to do that" he stammered. "No, but Thorin is right" Rhavaniel answered, "the Shire is a long walk from here. Ride out with us tomorrow and I will bring you home. Plus, I'd like to see your home after hearing so much about it". "Thank you" Bilbo said earnestly, "and when we get there, I will give you the royal tour of the Shire".

* * *

**Thanks again for reading, all reviews are appreciated :-)  
****So, this is the penultimate chapter. The next one will be the last, which I will probably post on Monday 17 June.  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, this is the last chapter. Thanks all for reading! :-)  
****Reviews are still appreciated.**

* * *

The next morning the entire encampment was buzzing with people running around, packing up their stuff and the first ones were already moving out.

Thorin and his Company were breaking down their tent as well, getting ready to definitively move into the halls of Erebor.  
The Mirkwood Elves were the first ones to move out. In a long, silent line they marched away from Erebor, back to the quiet and peace of their own woods. Some of the injured Elves rode on horses, instead of walking.  
Thranduil stood still like a statue as he watched his folk walk away. They were led by Thranduil's faithful captain, whom he trusted would get his people home safely and take care of the daily businesses in Mirkwood until the king returned. His elk was somewhere in the long line of Elves as well. He had chosen to ride a horse instead, which would be better capable of keeping up with Rhavaniel's and Legolas's horses.  
Somewhere deep down Thranduil felt a bit embarrassed of not staying with the ones that had fought a battle for him, but he knew he had some other important things to do now. He tore his eyes away from the string of Elves, and went looking for Legolas and Rhavaniel.

* * *

Rhavaniel and Legolas had helped Thorin and the Company break down the tent, which was now completed.  
Bilbo was packing his things and helped Rhavaniel put everything into her saddle bags. Meanwhile Legolas was saddling the horses.  
They were finishing up the last things when they were joined by Thranduil. "They left" the Elven King said, a sad undertone to his voice. "Don't worry" Legolas said, "Captain Aran is more than capable of getting them home". Thranduil nodded his head, a strange expression on his face. He was not used to being comforted by his son, but he did not mind it.

"I believe that is everything" Bilbo said, while struggling with the last clasp of his bag. Rhavaniel laughed at seeing it. "It fits?" she asked ironically. "It has to!" Bilbo said with a sharp laugh. Rhavaniel shook her head, still laughing and looked to her side at Fili and Kili. The young Dwarves sat a little away from the rest, so they would not be in anyone's way. They were speaking animatedly to each other. They were doing fine, but still did not have the strength to assist in cleaning up or packing.

Further down the gorge, where the camp had been in, the Men of Dale were gathering, preparing to depart at any minute. Rhavaniel was watching them while she saddled her horse.  
When Bard suddenly appeared among the men, they started walking, setting off for a quite unknown future for them. Bard looked over his shoulder at the Dwarves one more time. Seeing Rhavaniel was watching him, he waved a small goodbye, which she returned. He then followed his people, without looking back at the Lonely Mountain again.

* * *

Everyone knew that the moment was inevitable that Legolas, Rhavaniel, Bilbo and Thranduil would be departing too. Leaving the Dwarves alone in their now reclaimed homeland. The Elves' horses were saddled, their belongings packed and the travelling cloaks around their shoulders.

"What will you do now?" Legolas asked Thorin. "We will take some time to clean up the halls and make them suitable for living again, but we will manage" Thorin answered. "Thank you" he suddenly added, "thank you for helping us". Legolas gave a short smile. "Do not worry about it" he said, "in the end Rhav and I got to resolve some of our own issues as well. Legolas looked over at Thranduil. "And hopefully we can still develop some things" he added softly. Thorin's expression changed to a frown. "What?" he asked carefully, clearly not understanding what Legolas was saying. "You'll see" Legolas answered, a huge smile appearing on his face.

* * *

The moment was there, they could no longer stall it. Legolas, Bilbo and Rhavaniel said goodbye to each Dwarf individually, wishing them all the best for the future. Thranduil kept to the side, not joining in the goodbyes and farewells.

Rhavaniel looked around when she heard her name being called. The source was Fili.  
"What is it?" she asked as she walked up to him. "Thank you for helping in saving our lives. I do not believe either one of us have actually said that yet to you" Fili said softly. Next to him, Kili nodded vigorously in agreement. She smiled at the young brothers, "never in my life would I refuse to try and save yours. You two deserve to see something more of this world".

Finally, Legolas and Thranduil mounted their horses. Rhavaniel helped Bilbo onto Sacrifice, before mounting as well. "You should visit us when the stink of dragon is out of the halls" Thorin said. "We definitely will" Legolas and Rhavaniel answered as one.  
Slowly their horses started walking. Thorin kept walking next to them until they reached the end of the gorge. Once they were out on the plains, they broke into a slow gallop. Rhavaniel, Legolas and Bilbo waved one last time at the Dwarf King, before riding away. Thorin watched them disappear for a while, then turned around. He looked up at the mountain with a feeling of peace. "Home" he whispered to himself.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Several months after the battle, Erebor finally began to feel like home to the Dwarves. They had cleaned the halls and had decorated them to their wishes. After them, more Dwarves from other parts of Middle Earth had returned to the mountain as well.

On one particularly beautiful and sunny day, Fili and Kili were enjoying their lunch on a ridge of the mountain, looking out over the plains.  
"What is that?" Kili suddenly said, pointing to a small cloud of dust, somewhere in the middle of the plains. "I… don't know" Fili said slowly, standing up and looking at the cloud of dust apprehensively.  
"Thorin!" he called inside to their uncle.

Thorin appeared on the ridge within seconds. "What has happened?!" he asked quickly, for having caught the alarm in his oldest nephew's voice. "Look" Fili said softly. Thorin immediately noticed what they meant. "It looks like it is coming for us" he said, " I will go down and meet it". "We will go with you, you never know who it might be" Kili said determinedly.

Thorin, Fili and Kili waited for the source of the dust cloud in front of the entrance to the halls. As it got closer they recognized a horse and rider, riding towards them at full speed.  
As the rider stopped his horse close to the three Dwarves, they realized it was an Elf.  
"I carry word from the Lord and Lady of the Woodland Realm" the Elf said pompously, handing Thorin and envelope. "For me?" Thorin said flabbergasted. The Elf simply nodded, bowed his head to excuse himself, turned his horse and galloped away again.

The three Dwarves were left, completely puzzled. "Well, open it" Fili said to Thorin. The Dwarf King opened the envelope and carefully took out a letter written on thick parchment. As he read it, a wide smile appeared in his face. "So that is what Legolas meant!" Thorin suddenly exclaimed. Fili and Kili were immensely curious and could not wait for their uncle to tell them what the letter said.

Thorin looked up from it to his nephews. "Rhavaniel and Legolas are getting married in a few weeks, and they invited us to come" he said. Fili and Kili immediately broke out in cheers and happy laughter. "Looks like we are going to see the Hidden Village again" Thorin said. "And a new adventure" Kili said, "but a happy one this time". Thorin smiled, Kili was right. From now on, life was good.


End file.
